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BMI View: Chinese demand for steel and iron ore will slow in 2018 as the country re-balances economic growth away from heavy industry towards services. The uptick in steel demand in April 2018 from the autos sector is temporary as vehicle production is set to slow in the coming years.

In this monthly article we analyse and forecast China's demand

BMI View: Asia and Latin America will be the fastest-growing regions for hot drink sales over our 2017-2021 forecast period. Coffee will be the outperforming category across emerging markets, driven by rising incomes and high levels of investment by multinational food and drink companies. Product innovation, particularly in terms of healthy and

Leftist-populist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is likely to win Mexico's July presidential election. However, investor fears that he will reverse key economic reforms are likely overblown, and we do not anticipate a major change in Mexico's growth trajectory.

We believe leftist-populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is likely

British Columbia's Budget 2018, the first full budget released by the new government since taking office in summer 2017, relies on continued economic growth of between 2.3% and 2.0%, and significant revenue measures to fund spending boosts for key policy goals.

The plan maintains a trend of modest fiscal surpluses, heavily dependent on successful

Italian local and regional governments' key long-term challenges will persist regardless of the outcome of March's national elections. The stated policies of all major parties suggest that LRGs will face limited or declining budget flexibility beyond 2018. 

Italy is due to hold national parliamentary elections on 4 March. The large numbers of

French departments' budgetary performance improved in 2017, despite additional cuts in state transfers. This was due in particular to growth in property transfer duties and a near-stabilisation in social benefits spending.

The improvement shows the departments' dependence on external factors, particularly the real estate and employment markets

BMI View: We have revised our coffee forecasts lower on improved global production prospects. Following a period of weakness leading into H118, prices will rise out to 2019 as the market tightens slightly, before averaging lower starting in 2020 as the market records surpluses.

Short-Term Outlook (three-to-six months)

Arabica prices will trade

The recent upgrade of Spain's Short-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings to 'F1' from 'F2' is particularly significant to short-term investors as it means Spanish government bonds can potentially re-enter the eligible investible universe for money market funds (MMFs) rated 'AAAmmf'. Should bank upgrades follow, then Spain may

Early warning signs of declining hotel performance have emerged. Fitch has seen an increase in the volume of hotel loans transferring to special servicing and performance metrics in seven of the top US metropolitan markets are under pressure by oversupply. However, we expect revenues across the broader US market to grow through the end of 2018

Over the past few quarters, we have seen reform momentum across several emerging markets accelerate, and we believe that continued efforts on this front will support economic growth over the short-and-medium term, as business-friendly policies and liberalisation unlock productivity and efficiency gains.

Regular readers will know that the most