In 2023, Italian real GDP rose by almost 1%. The recovery of the economy was broad-based. Private consumption rose by 1.2% in 2023, benefitting from the further improvement in labour market conditions. In 2023, investment continued to be the main driver of the Italian recovery. Expenditures on machinery and ICT equipment were 20% higher than in 2019, with some first positive effects on Italian potential growth. The growth in investment since the post-pandemic period has increased the number of firms using technologies relying more effectively on digital transformation to boost productivity.
In 2023, Spanish real GDP (up an annual average of 2.5%) grew much more than Eurozone real GDP (0.5% y/y). Household consumption, the main driver of growth, was buoyed by the strong labour market and slowing inflation. We are forecasting growth of 0.4% q/q in Q1 2024, before it accelerates in the subsequent quarters. Therefore, for the fourth year, Spanish growth is expected to be one of the Eurozone’s driving forces (2% y/y versus 0.7% y/y).
The short Dutch recession seems to be over, thanks to dynamic private and public consumption. Inflation continues to cool down, even though it remains stickier than thought in some sectors. A new government has still not been formed yet, but there is a consensus about the fact that once it is the case, public spending is set to increase further, giving the economy an extra boost. The Dutch economy is therefore likely to navigate a different, more positive, path from its neighbors’.
Our first quarter nowcast confirms the outlook for the Belgian economy: it keeps cruising at close to trend-growth rates (0.3% q/q), despite the challenging external environment. One-off factors temporarily sped up normalisation in both firm investment and international trade, but private consumption once again carries the brunt of economic growth. Consumption patterns are changing however, with more e-commerce and share of total outlays spent on services. Belgian firms continue to demonstrate resilience, while the labour market cools down.
After eight years of socialist government, the centre-right Democratic Alliance coalition won the snap general election held on 10 March. This shift in the political landscape, where no party now has an absolute majority in Portugal’s Parliament, could be a source of instability in the country. Nevertheless, the sweeping consolidation of public finances during António Costa’s term, as well as sound macroeconomic fundamentals, give the future government considerable economic and fiscal leeway. Portuguese growth is expected to remain well above Eurozone growth in 2024 (standing at 1.2%, according to the European Commission, compared to 0.7% for the Eurozone).
The economic outlook in the UK is still challenging. After a year 2023 marked by a gradual deterioration in activity (a slowdown in the first half of the year, followed by a contraction in the second half), GDP growth is expected to remain slightly positive in 2024. With the general election, scheduled to be held at the end of the year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is facing difficulties within the Conservative party, is struggling to reassure households who are bearing the full brunt of rising costs of living and interest rates. Despite a recovery in purchasing power and the resilience in the labour market, private consumption remains depressed
US inflation March figure, again higher than expected, put an end to our scenario of a simultaneous first rate cut by the Fed, the ECB, and the BoE in June. We now expect only two rate cuts by the Fed this year, the first in July and the second one in December. The possibility is even rising that the Fed will not cut rates at all this year. On the ECB’s side, we maintain our expectation that the first cut will occur in June, but we have ruled out our back-to-back cuts forecast (i.e. June, July and September), favouring a more gradual easing of one cut per quarter (in June, September and December). The ECB would end up cutting rates before the Fed.
GDP growth, inflation, exchange and interest rates.
The data dependent nature of monetary policy has intensified the mutual influence between economic data, financial markets and central banks. Inflation releases play a dominant role given that central banks pursue an inflation target. In the United States, when CPI numbers are published, the change in the financial futures contracts on the federal funds rate has the highest correlation with the monthly change in core inflation. Going forward, Fed watching will consist of monitoring the inflation surprises -the difference between the published number and the consensus forecast- as well as the ensuing market reaction
GDP growth, inflation, exchange and interest rates
According to the latest economic data, the divergences in growth between the US, Europe and Japan are expected to remain at the beginning of 2024. In Europe, the economic situation in Q1 was once again disrupted by exceptional factors, this time linked to the Red Sea crisis, which particularly affected automotive production in January and, by extension, industrial production.
Disinflation in the euro zone continues to buoy household confidence. The European Commission index rose by 0.6 points to 14.9 points in March, according to the flash estimate. This is its highest level since February 2022 and the start of the war in Ukraine.
The first indicators available for January point to a continuing weak start to the quarter (after contraction in GDP of -0.3% q/q in Q4 2023), hence our forecast of a further drop in GDP of -0.1% q/q in Q1. Manufacturing production (up 1% m/m in January) remained 1.5% below the figure seen in November, due to a sharp drop in automotive production (down 10% in January from the level seen in November).
Q1 got off to a bad start, with a drop in manufacturing production in January (-1.6% m/m) linked to the shutdown of oil refineries for maintenance (with new difficulties in March), and a downturn in the automotive sector (supply problems, followed by a drop in demand affecting the production). At the same time, January’s foreign trade data do not suggest a rebound in imports of intermediate goods (inputs for other sectors).
Activity in the private sector in Italy continued to improve in February, according to the composite PMI index, which was up 0.4 points over a month, taking it to 51.1. However, unlike the current situation in Spain, the divergence between the manufacturing sector and the services sector is becoming more pronounced.
As expected, Spanish inflation slowed in February. In year-on-year terms, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose by only 2.9% (-0.6 percentage points compared to January) due to an increase in energy price deflation, itself brought about by favourable weather conditions.1 Like other countries in the eurozone, inflation in services persists in Spain, the country remaining the main component contributing to overall inflation (contribution of 1.9 pp).
US economic activity slowed slightly in February, according to the ISM survey. It reported a deterioration in the business climate in the manufacturing sector, putting a halt to three months of increases, with the associated index standing at 47.8 (-1.3pp).
The UK economy remains deteriorated, but the latest activity figures show a slight improvement at the beginning of 2024. The monthly ONS estimate indicates growth in added value of 0.2% m/m in January, buoyed by a rebound in retail and wholesale (+1.8% m/m) and construction (+1.1% m/m). Nevertheless, this follows a difficult second half of 2023, marked by a 0.5% drop in real GDP.
March saw an improvement in activity in Japan, according to the Jibun Bank PMI survey. Both the manufacturing index (48.2, +1.0pp), thanks to a widespread rise in the main sub-components, and the non-manufacturing index (54.9, +1.3pp) recovered, allowing the Composite index to reach its highest level since August 2023 (52.3, +1.7pp).
According to our forecast, inflation is expected to have fallen again in March to 2.4% y/y compared to 3% in February, due to the marked easing in food prices. However, French inflation is expected to then remain between 2 and 2.5% y/y until the end of August, due to depletion of the favourable effects linked to the end of inflation on food and manufactured goods and the continuation of inflation on services, before probably falling below 2% in September.
When questions have been answered, new ones pop up, reflecting a shift in focus. We are again experiencing this phenomenon. Recent comments by Christine Lagarde and Jerome Powell have provided implicit guidance on the timing of the first rate cut. The focus is now shifting to how fast and how far policy rates will be reduced
In the US, the latest Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia paints a rather upbeat picture of the economic outlook. A similar survey of the ECB points towards a gradual pickup in growth this year. In both cases, the level of disagreement is low. This provides reasons to be hopeful about the economic outlook. However, the alternative scenarios are predominantly negative for growth and inflation, and some have totally different implications for the evolution of bond yields. This would mean that as time goes by and the likelihood of the different alternative scenarios evolves, bond yield volatility could be high.
