Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Political risks back on the radar Political developments have re-emerged as a key risk to the region’s economic outlook in recent weeks. The economic fallout for Saudi Arabia from the Khashoggi scandal should be limited, at least in... 30th October 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Budget plans put focus on weak fiscal positions Policymakers in South Africa and Nigeria both laid out fiscal plans this month, but their responses to weak revenues were very different. South Africa’s new finance minister announced a wider deficit... 30th October 2018 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Renminbi to break through 7.0 before long The People’s Bank (PBOC) appears to have stepped up intervention recently to support the renminbi as it has approached 7.0 to the US dollar. Many are talking about that line as a psychological... 29th October 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian central bank not inclined to tighten further The Russian central bank’s statement accompanying today’s Board meeting reinforces our view that September’s interest rate hike was intended as a one-off. Whereas the financial markets are pricing in... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly No quick fix for Pakistan, Korea slowdown to persist Pakistan this week secured a US$6bn loan from Saudi Arabia and has plans to court Chinese money. These deals may help paper over the cracks, but they won’t solve the economy’s balance of payments... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Weekly South Africa’s budget targets growth, while Nigeria tightens South Africa’s new finance minister used this week’s budget statement to signal a shift away from further austerity, suggesting that Pretoria is prioritising support for the weak economy. Nigerian... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Tokyo CPI (Oct.) The jump in fresh food prices that lifted inflation in the Tokyo region to a ten-year high in October won’t be sustained. And with underlying inflation moderating yet again, the Bank of Japan’s 2%... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Brazil and Argentina: reform hopes rising… for now The sharp rallies in the Argentine peso and Brazilian real reflect growing optimism that economic policymaking will improve in both countries, but markets seem to be looking through the political... 25th October 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Regional growth slowed in Q3 After a strong Q2, growth in Emerging Europe as a whole slowed in Q3, from 3.5% y/y to around 2.8% y/y. In Russia and Poland, this slowdown has been relatively gradual and driven by weakness in... 25th October 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: further rate hikes unlikely to materialise The Turkish central bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged today and the accompanying statement reinforce our view that last month’s aggressive rate hike didn’t represent a shift back to... 25th October 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Region set for a temporary rebound The recovery in the Middle East and North Africa will gather pace over the rest of this year and in early 2019, but growth will peak sooner than most expect. Egypt’s cyclical upturn should continue... 24th October 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa CPI (Sep.) South African inflation stabilised in September remaining unchanged at 4.9% y/y. We think that inflation has peaked and expect that the SARB will keep its key rate on hold at next month’s policy... 24th October 2018 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch Sales tax hike is the nail in the coffin to tighter policy The Bank of Japan will probably lower its growth and inflation forecasts further at next week’s policy meeting. And it should reiterate its pledge to keep interest rates at current extremely low... 24th October 2018 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Shadow bank concerns come to the fore India’s shadow banking sector has been thrust into the spotlight over the past few weeks, triggered by news that the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) Group is likely to miss several... 24th October 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Flash Manufacturing PMI (Oct.) The pick-up in the manufacturing PMI in October, from 52.5 to 53.1, suggests that the likely slowdown in GDP growth in Q3 was just a blip. 24th October 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Higher inflation to prompt Nordic rate rises The latest data suggest that underlying inflation is picking up in Sweden, Norway and Iceland and we expect the central banks in all three countries to respond by tightening monetary policy. In Sweden... 23rd October 2018 · 1 min read
