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As on Mar 28, 2024 12:00 AM |
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Car production in the United Kingdom rose for the sixth successive month in February amid strong demand in the domestic market, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, showed on Thursday. Total car production climbed 14.6 percent year-over-year, which was the best February performance since 2021. There were 79,997 units produced in February. Demand from the domestic market jumped by 58.0 percent to 20,658 units in February, and that from the foreign market grew by 4.6 percent. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Germany's retail sales saw a decline in February, data from Destatis revealed on Thursday. Retail sales dropped 1.9% from January. On a yearly basis, retail sales decreased 2.7% in real terms. Data showed that Food sales were down 1.7% from the previous month and non-food retailing drifted lower by 1%. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The UK's economy shrank by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2023, entering a technical recession for the first time since the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. High inflation, record borrowing costs, and weak external demand weighed on demand and activity. Household consumption declined, while net trade contributed negatively to GDP. Fixed investment rose, and government consumption edged up. On a yearly basis, the UK economy contracted by 0.2% in Q4. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The British economy shrank by 0.2% year-on-year in Q4 2023, its first contraction since the 2020-21 recession, driven by high inflation, rising borrowing costs, and weak external demand. Net trade exerted downward pressure on GDP, with exports falling by 7.6% and imports by 1.5%. However, household consumption increased by 0.3%, fixed investment grew by 0.5%, and government consumption accelerated to 2.5%. For the full year 2023, the UK economy expanded by only 0.1%, the weakest growth since the 2009 financial crisis, excluding the pandemic year of 2020. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The US firms' concerns over uncertainty in sales revenue growth and employment in the four quarters ahead eased slightly in March, results of a survey by the Atlanta Fed showed Wednesday. The smoothed indicator for the sales revenue growth uncertainty slipped to 3.73 percent from 3.84 percent in February, the Atlanta Fed/Chicago Booth/Stanford Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU) showed. The indicator for employment uncertainty also decreased in March, falling to 4.07 percent from 4.14 percent in the previous month. The results are based on survey responses from about 1500 panel members,who occupy senior finance and managerial positions at U.S. firms, from March 11-22. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The Domestic Supply Price Index in Singapore fell 2.8% year-on-year in February, slightly lower than the 2.7% decline in January. Prices continued to drop for crude materials, mineral fuels, and various manufactured goods. However, prices accelerated for food & live animals, beverages & tobacco, and miscellaneous manufactured articles. On a monthly basis, domestic supply prices decreased by 0.1%, following a 0.3% drop in January. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Fed?s Christopher Waller said that there is no rush to cut the policy rate based on additional economic data over the past month that has reinforced this view. It is prudent to hold this rate at its current restrictive stance perhaps for longer than previously thought to help keep inflation on a sustainable trajectory toward 2 percent he added. He continues to believe that further progress will make it appropriate for the FOMC to begin reducing the target range for the federal funds rate this year. But until that progress materializes, I am not ready to take that step, he stated. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Private sector credit in Australia increased by 0.5% month-on-month in February 2024, unchanged from an upwardly revised figure in the previous month. This marks the fastest pace in four months, driven by slightly faster growth in personal use credit (0.3% vs 0.2% in January), while business credit expanded slightly softer (0.6% vs 0.7%). Housing credit remained stable at 0.4%. On an annual basis, private sector credit grew by 5.0% in February, the most in six months, following a 4.9% gain in January. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Consumer inflation expectations in Australia decreased to 4.3% in March from 4.5% in February, the lowest level since October 2021. This easing is attributed to a moderation in goods prices following rate hikes totaling 425 basis points over the past two years by the central bank. Services inflation also slowed but at a more gradual pace. RBA Governor Michele Bullock indicated a flexible approach to curb inflation amid economic growth slowdown, emphasizing that the interest rate path remains uncertain and data-dependent. Headline inflation stood at 4.1% in Q4 2023, down from 5.4% in Q3 and a peak of 7.8% in Q4 2022. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Australia retail sales that are a measure of the country?s consumer spending, rose 0.3% on a monthly basis in February from the previous reading of a 1.1% rise, according to the official data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday. The figure came in weaker than market expectations with an increase of 0.4%. Powered by Commodity Insights |
A report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday showed an extended pullback by mortgage applications in the week ended March 22nd. The MBA said the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell by 0.7 percent last week after slumping by 1.6 percent in the previous week. The Refinance Index led the way lower once again, slumping by 2 percent from the previous week, while the Purchase Index dipped 0.2 percent from one week earlier. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The International Monetary Fund or IMF stated in a latest update that Germany faces some serious economic challenges, but they aren?t necessarily the ones getting the most attention. Solving these challenges requires ambitious reforms. Germany is struggling as it was the only G7 economy to shrink last year and is set to be the group?s slowest-growing economy again this year, according to IMF?s projections. The weakness in Germany?s economy reflects a combination of temporary factors and some more structural ones. On the temporary side, when inflation surged, consumers cut back on purchases. The European Central Bank also raised interest rates to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched, which in turn depressed housing construction and other interest-sensitive sectors. A post-pandemic rebalancing of global demand away from manufactured goods and back toward services was also unfavorable for Germany?s manufacturing-intensive economy. The good news is that these temporary headwinds should gradually fade over the next year or two. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Producer prices in Malaysia rose by 0.3% year-on-year in February 2024, the first increase since September. This rebound follows a 0.6% fall in January. Prices recovered for mining and electricity & gas supply, while manufacturing prices fell less, particularly for coke & refined petroleum and food products. On a monthly basis, producer prices increased by 0.7% in February, rebounding from a 0.1% drop in January. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Australia's Consumer Price Index (CPI) held at 3.4% for the year ending February 2024, the lowest since November 2021. Food prices rose the least in 25 months, while prices for alcohol, tobacco, and communications moderated. Inflation for housing and health remained stable, but prices accelerated for transport, education, and clothing. Recreation and culture prices rebounded. The monthly CPI, excluding volatile items and travel, rose 3.9% in February, above the Reserve Bank of Australia's target range of 2-3%. Powered by Commodity Insights |
China's industrial profits rebounded strongly, rising 10.2% year-on-year to CNY 914.06 billion in the first two months of 2024. This marks a sharp turnaround from a 2.3% decline in 2023, signaling a robust start to the year for the Chinese economy. The recovery was driven by a 12.7% increase in profits in the private sector, while state-owned companies also saw improvements. Notable sectors driving the rebound include the computer industry, communications, and other electronic equipment, along with electricity and non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling. Powered by Commodity Insights |
U.S. house prices declined on a month-on-month basis in January for the first time in nearly one-and-a-half years, defying expectations for an increase, data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) showed Tuesday. House prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent from December, when they rose 0.1 percent. On a year-on-year basis, house prices rose 6.3 percent in January. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Consumer confidence in the U.S. edged slightly lower in the month of March, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slipped to 104.7 in March from a downwardly revised 104.8 in February. The modest decrease by the headline index came as an improvement in consumers' assessment of the present situation was offset by more pessimistic views about the future. The report said the present situation index jumped to 151.0 in March from 147.6 in February, while the expectations index fell to 73.8 in March from 76.3 in February. The Conference Board noted an expectations index reading below 80 often signals a forthcoming recession. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Partly reflecting a rebound in orders for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing a notable increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of February. The report said durable goods orders jumped by 1.4 percent in February after plummeting by a revised 6.9 percent in January. Orders for transportation equipment led the way higher, surging by 3.3 percent in February after plunging by 18.3 percent in January. The rebound came as orders for non-defense aircraft and parts soared by 24.6 percent in February following a 63.5 percent nosedive in January. Excluding the rebound in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in February after falling by 0.3 percent in January. Sharp increases in orders for machinery and primary metals helped offset notable decreases in orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components and computers and electronic products. The report also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, climbed by 0.7 percent in February after falling by 0.4 percent in January. Meanwhile, shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, fell by 0.4 percent in February after advancing by 0.8 percent in January. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The improvement in consumer sentiment in Germany is set to continue slowly, a survey conducted by the market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) showed on Tuesday. The forward-looking consumer confidence index rose to -27.4 in April from a revised -28.8 in March. The score was seen at -27.9. The propensity to save provided an upward boost to the confidence. Although the index lost 5 points, the reading remained extremely high at 12.4. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka unexpectedly lowered its benchmark interest rates by 50 basis points to 8.5% in March, the first cut since November, aiming to support economic growth. This move comes as inflation slowed to 5.9% in February, closer to the central bank's 5% target. Sri Lanka's economy expanded by 4.5% in Q4 2023, following a 1.6% growth in the previous quarter, driven by industry, construction, and services sectors. The country raised its value-added tax (VAT) to 18% from 15% at the beginning of 2024 to meet revenue targets under the IMF program. Powered by Commodity Insights |
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