During the first half of 2022, the Italian economy has gradually gained strength. In Q2 2022, the real GDP was 1.1% higher than in Q4 of 2019. The carry-over for 2022 is 3.5%. The recovery that resulted was widespread in a variety of sectors. Construction continued to grow, recording a robust increase in comparison with the pre-COVID level, while both manufacturing and services increased as well, benefiting from the recovery of tourism. The overall outlook for the Italian economy has become more uncertain. Households and firms are extremely cautious. In the three months ending in July, industrial production fell by more than 1.5% q/q. The value of retail trade continued to rise, while the volume of sales declined, suffering from the acceleration of inflation.
Spain is unlikely to avoid a difficult winter. Although its economy is structurally less vulnerable to energy shortages, the inflationary shock is severe and is not slowing down, with an inflation rate of over 10% in August. The rise in non-energy prices is amplifying relentlessly. Despite government action, the decline in purchasing power for Spanish households will be among the biggest in the Eurozone. Although tourism is likely to have helped business to cope with the third quarter, we are expecting a contraction in the fourth quarter of 2022, which is likely to continue through the winter. Job creation was strong again this summer, but opinion surveys are also pointing to a downturn on the way.
Belgian GDP grew by 0.2% in the second quarter of this year. Private consumption continued its upward trajectory in the first half of 2022 but is expected to slow down as inflation remains at an all-time high. Higher labour and energy costs are weighing on firms, with investment expenditures once again below pre-pandemic levels. A recession as from the end of this year looks unavoidable. Active fiscal policy should ensure it remains a shallow one but the cost to public finances will be sizeable.
With a relatively limited risk of energy shortages, Portugal should record some of the largest economic growth in the eurozone this year. A number of favourable factors are driving these growth levels. There has been substantial carry-over growth from 2021 and real GDP rose sharply in Q1 (+2.4% q/q), before stabilising in Q2. The recovery in tourism has also boosted business activity this summer. Despite the aid measures for households and businesses, which the government estimates are worth EUR 4 billion so far in 2022, there should be a slight surplus on the primary budgetary balance for this year
Finland, like other Nordic countries, has so far shown itself to be particularly resilient to the current financial shocks, but the clouds are gathering over the “Land of the Midnight Sun”. After five consecutive quarters of growth, buoyed by robust domestic demand, activity is expected to slow significantly in the second half of 2022 due to the persistent geopolitical tensions, tightening of financial conditions and price rises that are impacting on corporate margins and on the purchasing power of households. In an increasingly less favourable economic environment Finland can, nonetheless, be pleased with its structural efforts and in particular with the success of its housing policy
UK growth contracted slightly in Q2, but the economy should not enter a recession before Q4. On the one hand, the labour market continues to operate at full employment, which will partially absorb the sharp impact of inflation on purchasing power. On the other hand, the new government plan to support households and businesses should mitigate future energy price increases. Faced with persistent inflation, the Bank of England (BoE) is further accelerating its monetary normalisation, at the risk of precipitating a contraction in the economy.
After eight years in opposition, the conservatives have returned to power in Sweden in rather unfavourable circumstances. Although economic activity has proved resilient so far, it is showing clear signs of a slowdown. And faced with rising inflation, the population is demanding more support from the state authorities. Furthermore, the government will quickly need to adopt a position on the NATO accession process before assuming the presidency of the European Union from 1 January 2023. The difficulty will be managing to form a coalition government spanning the Liberals (on the centre-right) to the Sweden Democrats (far-right).
Switzerland differs from other European countries in that it has significantly lower inflationary pressures, protected as it is by its strong currency and by resilient business activity which should continue to grow for the rest of 2022 and during 2023. Although the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is likely to argue that 3.5% inflation year-on-year in August is a reason to raise its key rate by 75 bps on 22 September, and so exit from its policy of negative interest rates, it is unlikely that this monetary tightening will last over the longer term, as inflation is already showing signs of slowing down.
Despite a tight labour market, the UK economy is showing clear signs of a slowdown in growth as inflation hits a 40-year high. According to the monthly GDP estimate published by the ONS, on a three-month moving average UK growth was flat in July, marginally below expectations (+0.1%). This zero figure masks more substantial monthly changes: after rising in May (+0.4% m/m), GDP fell in June (-0.6% m/m) before recovering slightly in July (+0.2% m/m). In July, growth in the services sector (+0.4% m/m) was largely offset by new contractions in industry (-0.3%) and construction (-0.8%).
In many developed countries, housing prices have risen very sharply since the Covid-19 crisis. In the United States they jumped 37% between the 4th quarter of 2019 and the 2nd quarter of 2022. In Germany and the United Kingdom, the increases have also been significant and were 23.8% and 18.6% respectively over the same period. The increases in Italy (+7.4%) and Spain (+10.8%) were more restrained, while France (+14.1%) and Japan (+15%) were somewhere in between. Can such price increases be justified in terms of fundamentals or are they more indicative of a real estate bubble? In order to quantify this, the Dallas Fed publishes a housing prices exuberance index each quarter
Our Pulse shows an improvement in Chinese economic conditions over the period June–August 2022 compared to the previous three months (widening of the blue zone compared to the dotted zone). In fact, the very strict lockdown measures imposed in the spring (in Shanghai in particular) started to be lifted at the end of May, allowing activity to resume. The acceleration in economic growth has remained very gradual. However, it surprised positively in August, both in industry (+4.2% y/y after +3.8% in July and +0.6% in Q2 2022) and in services (+1.8% y/y after +0.6% in July and -3.3% in Q2).
With Gazprom announcing on 2 September that gas deliveries via NordStream1 would be interrupted until further notice due to alleged oil leaks discovered during maintenance work, the increase in deliveries promised by the Russian company via other pipelines (such as those crossing Ukraine) will only marginally compensate for the shutdown of NordStream1. The likelihood of power cuts this winter is increasing even though gas inventories are expected to be replenished in early November.
Inflation in Spain shows no signs of abating. Consumer price inflation remained above 10% y/y in August, at 10.5% (national measure). Although slightly lower when compared to July (10.8% y/y), this decline was mainly due to a fall in private transport costs (-3.5% over one month), the result of lower fuel prices at the pump. Conversely, the increase in food prices (and non-alcoholic beverages) accelerated, by 0.3 of a point to 13.8% y/y, with increases seen in dairy products, bread, and corn. The underlying measure (which excludes energy and perishable foods) also rose, from 6.1% y/y to 6.4% y/y. Prices also continue to be very dynamic in the property sector.
The downward trend of the manufacturing PMI has continued in August. In most advanced economies, the index is below 50, which corresponds to a contraction of activity in the manufacturing sector. A significant deterioration could be noted in the UK last month. The Chinese index has also dropped below 50. The drop in terms of new orders has been particularly large since the month of May. It is also widespread. In the euro area and most of its member countries as well as in the UK, the index has moved below the 46 mark. The readings are also very low in Mexico, the Czech Republic, Poland and Turkey. The situation has also deteriorated in China.
The French economy sprung a pleasant surprise in view of the headwinds that have been picking up since the start of 2022. Growth was 0.5% Q/Q during Q2, mainly due to the upturn in tourism and leisure business activity after COVID restrictions were lifted from March onwards. However, inflation continued to have an impact, as seen in the further fall in consumer purchasing power during Q2 (-1.1% Q/Q, following on from -1.6% during Q1). This inflation hit 6.1% Y/Y in July before falling back to 5.8% in August (according to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) national measurements).
Cradle of social democracy, Sweden is facing a possible breakthrough of the far right. Only 12 years after entering Parliament, with only 5.7% of the vote, the Sweden Democrats (SD, far right) now threaten traditional political forces. After a campaign marked by debates on crime in Sweden, on 11 September, the current government coalition led by the Swedish Social Democratic Party could fail to secure a third consecutive term, following on from its wins in 2014 and 2018
In Chile, a large majority of voters (nearly 62%, with an exceptional voter turnout) rejected the draft new constitution in the referendum held on 4 September. The draft, which contains almost 400 articles, did not propose a profound reform of the Chilean economic model; the Central Bank had to remain independent, while property and labour rights were not called into question. But it guaranteed better access for the population to a set of social rights (housing, education and access to healthcare), whereas the State currently only pays for those needs not covered by the private sector. This meant a substantial and long-term increase in public spending
Recent economic data paint a picture of increasing concerns about the economic outlook. In the US, high inflation and rising interest rates play a key role. In the euro area, the same factors play a role -although interest rates are still below those in the US- but skyrocketing energy prices and gas supply disruption are additional forces that should drag down growth. Easing price pressures in business surveys are a hopeful development but selling price expectations remain nevertheless exceptionally high given the weakening of order books. This could point to input price pressures that force businesses to charge higher prices to protect their margins. It is to be feared that slowing demand will make this increasingly difficult, forcing companies to cut back on investments and new hirings
US economic policy uncertainty based on media coverage has increased slightly recently, reflecting the hawkish tone of the Federal Reserve and hence concern about the extent and the impact of additional monetary tightening. In the US, business uncertainty about sales revenue growth has declined slightly as of late after a rising trend lasting several months.
The US labour market continues to perform well. The unemployment rate stood at 3.7% in August, up slightly from 3.5% in the previous month. Total nonfarm payroll employment growth is slowing down but remains significant (+315k m/m), particularly in professional and business services, health care, and retail trade. The labour market’s resilience to the slowdown in growth is an important element in mitigating the impact of the rising cost-of-living.
Over the next five years, French economic policy will have to continue to deal with structural issues, such as full employment, the delay of companies in terms of robotisation, the competitiveness of companies and the place of industry. It will most likely also continue to focus, at least in the short term, on supporting household purchasing power, as it has done since 2019. These projects, which will have to be carried out in parallel, will have to be reconciled with the cost of the ecological and energy transition against the background of public debt that has already risen sharply and interest rates that are moving higher, albeit in a controlled way.
The IMF and the Government of Pakistan have reached an agreement to complete the combined 7th and 8th reviews of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility which has been interrupted since March. If the IMF Executive Board approves the deal in the coming weeks, Pakistan will receive the equivalent of almost USD 1.2 billion. An extension of the support programme from September 2022 to June 2023 could allow the country to receive an additional SDR 720 million (i.e. approximately USD 947 million). Although this agreement will partially and temporarily ease pressure on the country’s external accounts, the risk of a balance-of-payments crisis remains high. The high pressures on the Pakistani rupee have not eased
The economy of Algeria was already in a precarious position in 2020 when it had to cope with the double shock of the Covid-19 pandemic and lower hydrocarbon prices. Since then, the situation has improved thanks to the rise in global oil prices and strong demand for gas in Europe. For the first time since 2014, the country should be able to post current account surpluses in 2022-2023, and then accumulate FX reserves. The risk of a balance of payments crisis in the short term is receding. But macroeconomic stability remains fragile as prospects for recovery are modest and public finances are structurally in deficit. The implementation of reforms is a priority to prevent economic troubles in the event of a new oil shock.
Chinese economic activity contracted by 2.6% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2022, with almost zero growth (0.4%) year-on-year. This poor performance was primarily the result of mobility restrictions introduced in several of the country’s provinces in response to the latest wave of the Covid19 pandemic, with the strictest restrictions in force from March to May in major economic centres such as Shanghai. The economic shock in Q2 2022 was severe and unexpected, but was nevertheless less violent than that in Q1 2020, when the lockdown measures introduced at the beginning of the crisis resulted in a collapse in activity of 10.3% q/q and 6.9% y/y.
The three-month moving average growth for the UK was 0.4% in May (3.5% y/y), above the expectations (0%). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides a detailed analysis of monthly changes in economic activity. After contractions in March and April, GDP returned to growth in May (+0.5% m/m). This growth was driven by the three main sectors: services , production and construction.
