Global Economics Update What rate of wage growth is acceptable for central banks? Even though workers are accepting cuts in their real pay, nominal wage growth is still above “acceptable” rates for central banks in DMs of 3% to 4%. This underlines why interest rates need to head... 5th July 2022 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA to hike to around 3.5% but will cut in late-2023 The RBA sounded a little more cautious about the outlook for the economy when it hiked rates by 50bp today, but we suspect that further upside surprises to inflation will encourage it to eventually... 5th July 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Bank of Israel joins the 50bp rate hike club The Bank of Israel stepped up the pace of tightening today with a 50bp interest rate hike, to 1.25%, as it dropped its commitment to “gradual” interest rate hikes. This suggests that similar moves may... 4th July 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Goodbye Guzmán, hello crisis The news that Argentine economy minister, Martín Guzmán, resigned over the weekend points to growing influence of the Kirchner faction of the government. From an economic perspective, this is likely... 4th July 2022 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Switzerland CPI (Jun.) Although Swiss inflation remains enviably low compared to many advanced economies, the further increase in the core rate will only strengthen the SNB’s resolve to squeeze price rises out of the system... 4th July 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Ocampo, BanRep hawks & Argentina in crisis (again) Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro’s choice of José Antonio Ocampo as his finance minister provides an early sign that Petro will govern as an economic moderate. Mr Ocampo will also sit on the... 1st July 2022 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Riksbank shifts up gears but rate “summit” is in sight While the Riksbank stepped up the pace of tightening this week, the fact that Swedish households are highly sensitive to rate hikes, and the likelihood that weakening activity will soon reduce the... 1st July 2022 · 5 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash HICP (June) The further big increase in the euro-zone inflation rate came despite a substantial fall in Germany that was driven by regulatory changes, and shows that underlying price pressures remain... 1st July 2022 · 2 mins read
India Economics Weekly GST hikes add to inflation concerns The Finance Ministry’s announcement this week of hikes to GST rates doesn’t signify a tighter fiscal stance, but it does add to the upside risks to inflation. This reinforces our belief that the RBI... 1st July 2022 · 5 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs, Korea Trade, Indonesia CPI Manufacturing PMIs for June fell back mainly due to the weakness of external demand. We think weaker global growth will remain a drag on exports over the coming months and that the region’s industrial... 1st July 2022 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Housing downturn to weigh on activity The housing downturn is now in full swing. While that hasn’t prevented a solid rise in consumption in Q2, we think falling wealth will be a drag on consumer spending next year. What’s more, our... 1st July 2022 · 6 mins read
Japan Data Response Tankan (Q2), Labour Market (May) & Tokyo CPI (Jun.) Today’s Tankan survey suggests that while the services sector is benefitting from the easing of virus restrictions, the outlook for the manufacturing sector is worsening. Meanwhile, the labour market... 1st July 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Economy losing momentum While the apparent contraction in GDP in May appears to have been partly due to temporary factors, it also reflects the impact of the surge in interest rates on housing. With the business surveys for... 30th June 2022 · 5 mins read
Global Economics Update Strength of goods spending still boosting inflation The consumer recovery in advanced economies has been characterised by particularly strong spending on goods and a weaker pick-up in services demand. There are signs that goods spending is now... 30th June 2022 · 3 mins read
Africa Chart Pack Hawkish shift creates difficult environment for Africa The hawkish turn by DM central banks over the past month has further soured investor risk appetite, and capital inflows into African economies are likely to have slowed. Countries with large external... 30th June 2022 · 12 mins read
Long Run Update Inflation – how high is too high? While the current rise in inflation to near double-digit rates is clearly undesirable, it begs the question of at what point the costs of sustained higher inflation outweigh the benefits. We think... 30th June 2022 · 3 mins read