U.K. wages are growing at their fastest pace in almost a decade, suggesting the economy is continuing to operate with little slack. Average earnings excluding bonuses rose 3.1 percent in the three months through August, the most since January 2009, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Unemployment held at a 43-year low of 4 percent. While wage growth remains below its pre-crisis average, muted productivity means that even a modest pickup could fuel inflation as companies raise prices to protect their margins. Bank of England officials raised interest rates in August, though...
U.S. retail sales rose less than forecast in September, as a broad-based increase was overshadowed by a drop in restaurant receipts that may reflect the impact of Hurricane Florence. The value of overall sales rose 0.1 percent for a second month, compared with the median forecast of economists for a 0.6 percent gain, Commerce Department figures showed Monday. So- called retail control-group sales -- which are used to calculate gross domestic product and exclude food services, auto dealers, building-materials stores and gasoline stations -- climbed 0.5 percent, slightly...
The higher cost of renting and owning a home nudged consumer prices higher in September, but inflation more broadly eased again after a recent runup. The consumer price index rose 0.1% in September to mark the sixth increase in a row, the government said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 0.2% advance. Yet the increase in the cost of living over the past 12 months slowed again to 2.3% from 2.7%, the government said Thursday. Two months ago, the yearly rate hit a six-year high of 2.9%. A more closely followed measure that strips out food and energy also rose 0.1%...
U.S. producer prices rose for the first time in three months amid a surge in gauges reflecting airfares and rail-transportation costs, a Labor Department report showed Wednesday in Washington. Producer-price index rose 0.2% m/m (matching est.) after a 0.1% drop in prior month; up 2.6% y/y (est. 2.7%) after 2.8% gain. Excluding food and energy, core gauge rose 0.2% m/m (matching est.); up 2.5% y/y (matching est.) after 2.3%. PPI excluding food, energy and trade services, a measure some economists prefer because it strips out the most volatile...
The U.K. economy appears to be on course for its best calendar quarter in almost two years, despite a weaker-than-expected performance in August. Gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent in the three months through August, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. In August alone, output was unchanged. Economists had predicted growth of 0.1 percent. However, a similar performance in September would leave growth over the third quarter at 0.6 percent, up from 0.4 percent in the second and the most since the end of 2016. The figures help to explain why the Bank of England raised...
The economy created a modest 134,000 new jobs in September, but it was enough to push the U.S. unemployment rate down to a 49-year low of 3.7%. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a gain of 168,000 nonfarm jobs. The average hourly wage paid to American workers rose 0.3% to $27.24 an hour, the Labor Department said Friday. The 12-month rate of hourly wage gains slowed to 2.8% from a nine-year high of 2.9%. Hours worked each week was flat at 34.5 hours. Employment gains for August and July were revised up by a combined 87,000. The government said 270,000 new jobs were created in...
Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.8 percent in June from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.
The core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food...
The higher cost of renting and owning a home nudged consumer prices higher in September, but inflation more broadly eased again after a recent runup.
The consumer price index rose 0.1% in September...
The U.K. economy appears to be on course for its best calendar quarter in almost two years, despite a weaker-than-expected performance in August.
Gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent in the...
Initial jobless claims, a tracker of sorts for layoffs in the U.S., crept higher at the end of July but clung near a half-century low.
New claims inched up by 1,000 to 218,000 in the seven days...