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UK CPI Preview (Feb 19): Inflation Drop to Target Deferred
February 12, 2025 10:27 AM UTC
After the surprisingly soft December data, we think January’s CPI numbers will show some bounce back up, albeit the 0.2 ppt rise we envisage to 2.7% being notch below BoE thinking. This will largely reflect more ‘noise’ in volatile services and higher energy inflation both due to fuel price
2024 Q4 Country Insights Scores to Download in Excel
February 25, 2025 1:00 PM UTC
The Country Insights Model is a comprehensive quantitative tool for assessing country and sovereign risk by measuring a country’s risk of external and domestic financial shocks and its ability to grow. The access to our full range of scores across 174 countries corresponding to the fourth quarter
Trump’s Tariffs: Steel Then Reciprocal and Then Cars
February 11, 2025 1:23 PM UTC
The 25% Steel and Aluminum tariff could have small to modest adverse inflation and GDP growth impacts on the U.S., but the prospect of reciprocal and more product and country tariffs create trade policy uncertainty/supply chain disruption and paperwork problems. This could amplify the impact of
Europe: Economic Consequences of Likely Defence Build-Up
February 18, 2025 3:29 PM UTC
As Europe is forced to consider a massive and rapid ramp up to its relatively mediocre defence spending (Figure 1) as it contemplates a reduction in military support from the US, key questions emerge as the economic effect(s). Will it boost or inhibit growth, add to inflation, and how will/should
CBRT Increased Its End-Year Inflation Forecast from 21% to 24%
February 10, 2025 3:08 PM UTC
Bottom Line: Central Bank of Turkiye (CBRT) released its first quarterly inflation report of the year on February 7, and revised its inflation forecast for 2025. CBRT now projects that inflation will stand at 24% at the end of 2025, 12% next year and 8% in 2027. CBRT governor Karahan said the revisi
UK GDP Preview (Feb 13): Weakness Continues, if not Deepens?
February 4, 2025 4:26 PM UTC
Recent data add to already-growing questions about the UK’s economy’s apparent solidity, if not strength, as seen in sizeable q/q gains in the first two quarters of the year. And those questions may be accentuated by the looming December GDP data where we see a flat m/m reading but, combined w
BoE Review: Uncertain MPC Signals It Needs to be Careful
February 6, 2025 1:57 PM UTC
The latest set of BoE forecasts are notable for one major thing – an assumption that underlying growth has fallen, possible to under 1%. This does not explain all of the higher inflation profile (Figure 1) which now only delivers a below target outcome into 2028 – the higher rates projected th
China/U.S. Trade War and next To Talks?
February 4, 2025 10:02 AM UTC
China’s targeted and measured counter tariffs against the U.S. are designed to push the U.S. towards the negotiating table on the wider issue of the U.S./China trade deficit. Negotiating will likely start into the spring, but negotiating will be tough as the U.S. wants a phase 2 deal with new ob
BoE Preview (Feb 6): Clearer Dovish Message to Markets?
January 28, 2025 1:46 PM UTC
Back in early December, BoE Governor Bailey suggested very openly in an FT interview that highlighted that the market path in the November forecast was conditioned on four rate cuts this year, this largely a result of inflation having come down “faster than we thought it would.” And while the
ECB Preview (Mar 6): Gauging Restrictiveness as Policy to be Eased Further
February 27, 2025 1:55 PM UTC
As has been the case at most recent Council meetings, the ECB verdict is less important that the rhetoric. A sixth 25 bp discount rate is widely expected, to 2.5%, but how wide the door is left open for further cuts may be gleaned from any clear change in regard to how near(er) neutral policy the Co
U.S. Treasuries and the Trump Effect
February 18, 2025 1:20 PM UTC
If the Fed convince the market that it is leaving the door open to easing and sees Fed Funds reduction multi-year, then 2yr could hold onto a small discount in the next two quarters and then swing to a small premium of 2yr to Fed Funds (Figure 1). 10yr yields will likely maintain a small to modest
Reciprocal Tariffs and Reducing Bilateral Trade Imbalances
February 17, 2025 10:28 AM UTC
· President Trump’s executive order on reciprocal tariffs has not produced much market reaction, both as the proposals will not be delivered to the president until April 1 and the process of Commerce/U.S. Treasury and Homeland Security input is seen reducing the odds of penal tariffs.
Europe’s Gas Problem Again?
February 11, 2025 8:30 AM UTC
The ECB staff forecasts on March 6 will be revised upwards for 2025 and 2026, due to the surge in wholesale gas prices. However, the ECB will likely take the view that 2 round effects from higher gas prices on balance are unlikely to boost core inflation (especially given wage tracker softness) an
Eurozone: The Neutral Rate – Probably Little Changed Recently Unlike Central Banks
February 7, 2025 1:14 PM UTC
A well-advertised research paper from the ECB suggests that the real neutral rate of interest for the EZ has not changed very much in the last few years but with a likely range of between -0.5% and +0.5%, but still well below estimates for what is so-called r* prior to the pandemic (Figure 1). The
Congress Struggles Over Budget Bill
February 5, 2025 2:48 PM UTC
The House is struggling to reach consensus on the beautiful huge 10yr budget bill, as GOP budget hawks want to see multi trillion expenditure cuts, though eventually the 10yr expenditure cuts will likely compromise around USD 0.5-1.0trn. Tax cuts are also unlikely to match President Trump campaign
Eurozone: Trump Taking Aim at the EU?
February 5, 2025 9:06 AM UTC
President Trump has made it clear that the EU is going to face US tariffs in the not too distant future. Admittedly, tariff threats have been used as the basis for negotiation elsewhere, this may be the case for the EU too – as was the case during Trump’s first term. As for the EU, it does h
ECB Review: Policy Still Restrictive
January 30, 2025 2:34 PM UTC
It was always likely that the ECB verdict at this month’s Council meeting would be less resounding than that seen in December. A fifth 25 bp discount rate cut did occur, to 2.75%, but may not have seen any demand to at least consider a larger move as was the case last month. But the door is le
Negotiations to End Ukraine War Started: What is Next?
February 25, 2025 2:33 PM UTC
Bottom Line: Russia and the U.S. have started negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. We continue to foresee a Russia-friendly peace deal in Ukraine sealed in 6-12 months following a cease-fire. We envisage Russia will continue to annex areas in and around four Ukrainian oblasts that it occupied,
Bunds and ECB Easing/Trump Tariffs
February 20, 2025 8:03 AM UTC
It is highly likely in April that the U.S. will announce a 25% tariff on EU cars and pharmaceuticals (here) and also reciprocal tariffs against the EU. The majority could be implemented given Trump’s desire to raise revenue/dislike of the EU as well as negotiate trade deals. This
Markets and Trump’s Early Days
February 10, 2025 7:55 AM UTC
The early days of the new Trump administration has seen lots of volatility around the on-off tariffs with Canada and Mexico, but the more stable U.S. Treasury market has helped provide an anchor. U.S. Treasuries have shift towards the view that the 10yr budget bill will be delayed until H2 and
Negotiations to End Ukraine War to Start Soon
February 13, 2025 3:03 PM UTC
Bottom Line: As we envisaged, U.S. president Trump and Russian president Putin talked over the phone on February 12 to discuss the war in Ukraine. According to sources, Trump and Putin agreed to have their teams start negotiations immediately. Under current circumstances, we foresee a Russia-friendl
Banxico Review: 50 bps Cut as Expected
February 8, 2025 9:39 PM UTC
Banxico cut the policy rate by 50bps to 10.5%, with a cautious stance and a split vote. Inflation has fallen but remains above target, expected to converge to 3.0% by Q3 2026. Global risks, including Trump’s tariff threats, add uncertainty. Despite economic weakness, some monetary tightening may s
Fixing The U.S. Trade Deficit
February 6, 2025 2:30 PM UTC
New U.S. trade deals will likely make slow progress in reducing bilateral trade deficits as the underlying drivers behind the U.S. trade deficit are macro forces. While the U.S. economy outperforms other major trading partners; the value of the USD remains overvalued and as long as tariffs are
Trump Tariffs, or Not: Trying to Make Sense of a Policy Farce
February 3, 2025 11:46 PM UTC
So, after a weekend and a day of drama we are back to where we were on Friday morning. Forecast updates made on the imposition of tariffs will not be thrown in the trash can, but now will be held as an alternative should Trump decide to go ahead on March 1 after postponing them from February 1 (whic
EZ HICP Review: Headline Rises Amid Still Friendly Core Messages?
February 3, 2025 10:38 AM UTC
There were mixed messages in the higher-than-expected January flash HICP numbers. For a third successive month, the headline but this time by ‘only’ 0.1ppt, to a six-month high of 2.5%, but where the core (again) stayed at 2.7%, partly due to what is seemingly relatively stable services inflat
Preview: Due February 12 - U.S. January CPI - Core rate to pick up on the month but slow yr/yr
January 31, 2025 3:28 PM UTC
We expect January’s CPI to increase by 0.3% both overall and ex food and energy, with the overall figure close to 0.3% even before rounding, but the core rate rising by 0.33%, which would be the strongest monthly gain since the three months of Q1 2024 each showed monthly core rates of 0.4% (each a
Eurozone: Gauging ECB Neutral Amid a Wandering R-Star
February 26, 2025 12:14 PM UTC
It is clear that, especially with another official rate cut due at the looming ECB Council meeting (Mar 6), the existing debate about how restrictive policy will be may only intensify. Indeed, the debate is already quite vocal, led by the hawks who are trying to argue for policy pause at least.
Equities: Growth, Rates and Tariffs
February 26, 2025 8:30 AM UTC
· EZ equities still have further scope to outperform U.S. equities in the remainder of 2025 helped by further ECB easing/hopes of a Ukraine peace deal and U.S. equity market overvaluation restraining the U.S. However, this can be volatile with uncertainty over the scale of U.S. tari
UK: Mixed Labor Market Signals – Yet Again
February 18, 2025 7:56 AM UTC
There is little in the latest UK labor market numbers that will ease any concerns of the BoE policy hawks. Admittedly, inactivity and vacancies fell, both suggesting some easing in the labor market, although the former is as suspect as the (still apparently rising) ONS employment numbers due to qu
Revised FOMC view: One 25 bps easing in late 2025, two 25bps easings in 2026
February 13, 2025 12:46 PM UTC
Strength in January CPI does in part reflect residual seasonality, but continued stalling of progress in yr/yr growth is of concern. This revives concerns that the economy may need to slow to return inflation to the 2.0% target, something tariffs are likely to make more difficult. Uncertainty is exc
FX Daily Strategy: APAC, February 7th
February 6, 2025 4:00 PM UTC
Mild USD downside risks on US employment report
JPY continues to look the most attractive currency
CAD needs a strong Canadian employment report to prevent a renewed decline
AUD still looks attractive
EUR/GBP looks set to stabilise near term
German Data Review: Mixed Inflation News but Politics Dominate?
January 31, 2025 1:28 PM UTC
As Germany faces possibly deeper and more prolonged political deadlock, its disinflation process continues, but there are signs that the downtrend is flattening out and this may be the message into the rest of 2025. Indeed, January HICP inflation stayed at 2.8% an outcome largely as expected. Bu
U.S. Q4 GDP Led by Strong Consumer Spending
January 30, 2025 2:04 PM UTC
The 2.3% increase in Q4 GDP is little weaker than consensus expectations surveyed before yesterday’s weak trade and inventories data but the data was supported by a significantly stronger than expected 4.2% rise in consumer spending, keeping the pace of growth solid. Core PCE prices at 2.5% are on
Germany: A New but Hampered Government
February 24, 2025 8:53 AM UTC
The German election delivered few surprises with the electorate swinging even more clearly away from the political middle ground. It clearly means that many difficult decisions lie ahead with questions over the effectiveness of the likely new government. The result is only likely to inflame US c