Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Some convergence in business confidence While business confidence in New Zealand seems to be recovering from the slump after 2017’s election, it has weakened in Australia. (See Chart.) That deterioration can partly be explained by softer... 27th February 2019 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank to keep rates on hold until beyond 2020 We have removed the single 25bp interest rate hike that we had pencilled in for Sweden this year, and forecast rates to remain unchanged at their current level into 2021. In fact, with risks to... 26th February 2019 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Higher services inflation a reflection of strong demand There is little evidence to suggest that inflation in the services sector is being boosted by “one-off” factors, as has been suggested by several MPC members. Instead, it appears to be a reflection of... 26th February 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Export volumes should fall this year The export climate index fell to a three-year low in January and suggests that exports will barely grow at all this year. The monthly trade data have been even more downbeat as they showed export... 26th February 2019 · 1 min read
RBA Watch Shift in RBA’s stance increases chances of rate cuts The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will almost certainly leave interest rates unchanged at 1.50% at its policy meeting on Tuesday 5th March. While the Bank should reiterate its view that inflationary... 26th February 2019 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Mixed signs from the Swiss industrial sector The improvement in annual Swiss industrial production growth in Q4 suggests that the wider economy returned to positive quarterly growth at the end of last year. Nonetheless, while the data appear... 22nd February 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Consumer Prices (Jan.) The drag from slumping fresh food inflation will subside soon but headline inflation will still hover around 0.5% over the coming months. 22nd February 2019 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Activity expected to slow The latest data paint a mixed picture of the performance of the Swiss and Nordic economies at the end of 2018, with signs of weakness in Switzerland and Sweden offset in part by robust quarterly GDP... 21st February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Brazil IPCA-15 (Feb.) The continued softness of Brazilian inflation up to mid-February, combined with the ambitious pension reform presented to Congress yesterday, will keep interest rate hikes off the table in the coming... 21st February 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Flash Manufacturing PMI (Feb.) The continued sharp fall in the manufacturing PMI in February adds to the evidence that Japan’s economy is losing steam rapidly and suggests that GDP growth will remain weak for now. 21st February 2019 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What does the return of deflation mean for the Gulf? Weak domestic demand has pushed several Gulf economies into deflation, although most places are well placed to deal with the negative repercussions. If anything, a period of deflation is what is... 20th February 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Central banks take a dovish turn The weakness of the latest inflation and economic activity data in many emerging markets, combined with growing expectations for looser monetary policy in the developed world, has prompted a dovish... 20th February 2019 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa CPI (Jan.) South African inflation dropped by more than expected in January and is likely to fall further in the middle of the year, increasing the chances that the rate cuts that we expected in 2020 will be... 20th February 2019 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Focus Core inflation set to drop back Temporary factors that boosted inflation in 2018 are fading and recent declines in unit labour costs growth suggest that core inflation will fall this year. That supports our view that the Bank of... 19th February 2019 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Consumer Prices (Jan.) Saudi Arabia re-entered deflation at the start of 2019 as we had anticipated, with consumer prices falling by 1.9% y/y in January. A fresh round of subsidy cuts poses an upside risk to the inflation... 19th February 2019 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Jan.) The weaker-than-expected outturn for Swedish inflation in January underlines our view that the Riksbank will be in no rush to raise interest rates again. Indeed, with core inflation remaining... 19th February 2019 · 1 min read
