Archive

August 18, 2025
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UK Excess Inflation Expectations

  • The upwards trend in consensus inflation forecasts reflects persistent excess effective expectations supporting wages amid policymakers’ failure to re-anchor at the target.
  • Easing on the assumption of success predictably negated the required conditions, so we forecasted the problem. Nonetheless, expectations were also stickier than we assumed.
  • Without renewed progress, wage growth should keep trending above the BoE’s forecast, discouraging further rate cuts. Hikes may even be needed in 2026 to break excesses.

By Philip Rush

August 12, 2025
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US Inflation Skips Several Months

  • July’s US inflation print reversed all of the increase built in from tariffs over the past several months, despite matching expectations prevailing into the release.
  • Core goods inflation eased slightly, suggesting ongoing corporate success in avoiding the tariff shock. But service inflation is stuck too high to be consistent with the target.
  • Anti-avoidance measures and belated pass-through will drive further rises. We doubt they will be as severe as many fear, yet still not create much space to cut rates.

By Philip Rush

August 01, 2025
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EA: Sticky Summer Inflation

  • The ECB’s victory party can continue for another month, as inflation proved surprisingly sticky at the target. But the hangover is disappointing, amid broad-based upside news.
  • Two-thirds of national outcomes exceeded our expectations, with a slight skew higher, and pressures concentrated in services. Seasonal travel parts would be payback-prone.
  • Another upside surprise to the ECB’s forecast makes the profile likely to shift higher in September. The news is the opposite of what is needed for another rate cut.

By Philip Rush

July 16, 2025
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UK CPI Lifts Hawkish Case in June

  • UK inflation surged 0.2pp beyond the consensus again in June, with underlying inflation measures broadly inconsistent with the target and headlines moving the wrong way.
  • The consensus is failing to learn the lesson of intense underlying pressures. The CPI rate rose 0.6pp since Jan instead of falling 0.4pp and is 1.4pp higher than called a year ago.
  • Policymakers seem infected with dovish fear about the labour market ahead of August’s meeting. CPI is 0.9pp higher in our year-ahead forecast, and we were right a year ago.

By Philip Rush

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