Retail sales were flat last month in the U.K., limiting the boost to wider economic growth at the start of the year. Total sales volumes were no higher in March than in February, according to figures released Friday by the Office for National Statistics. This was a weaker reading than had been forecast, with economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expecting sales to climb 0.3% on month. February's total was revised slightly higher, however. For the quarter as a whole, sales were 1.9% higher than in the previous three months, which were marked by a disappointing Christmas sales season....
Australian consumer price inflation fell by more than expected to a two-year low in the December quarter, while a sharp slowdown in core inflation reinforced market bets the next move in interest rates would be down. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6% in the fourth quarter, under market forecasts of 0.8%. The annual pace of CPI inflation slowed to 4.1%, from 5.4%, again under forecasts of 4.3%. For December alone, the CPI rose 3.4% compared to the same month a year earlier, down sharply from 4.3% in November. A...
US consumer confidence increased in January to the highest level since the end of 2021 as Americans grew more upbeat about the economy and the job market amid more sanguine views about inflation. The Conference Board's gauge of sentiment increased to 114.8 from a revised 108 a month earlier, data published Tuesday showed. The January figure matched the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. A gauge of current conditions surged to 161.3, the highest since March 2020. The measure of expectations rose to a six-month high. The expected...
US job openings unexpectedly rose in December to the highest level in three months, highlighting a robust labor market that's powering strong economic growth. Vacancies increased to 9 million from an upwardly revised 8.9 million reading in the prior month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 8.8 million openings. Source : Bloomberg
The rate of U.S. inflation based on the Federal Reserve's preferred PCE gauge rose a mild 0.2% in December and pointed to smaller price increases in 2024. Inflation picked up at bit at year end after declining in November, but there's little evidence of emerging trouble. The increase in prices in the 12 months ended in December was unchanged at 2.6%. The core rate of PCE inflation, which the Fed gives even greater weight, also rose 0.2% last month. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.2% increase. The yearly rate of core inflation slowed to 2.9% from 3.2% to mark...
Orders for durable goods were flat in December, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists had forecast a 1.5% rise in orders for durable goods — products made to last at least three years. Core capital goods orders, which exclude volatile sectors like transportation and defense, rose 0.3% last month after a 1% rise in November. The figure omits defense and transportation and is a proxy for broader business investment. Source : MarketWatch
Asia-Pacific markets tumbled after U.S. inflation for March came in hotter than expected, stoking worries that the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for longer.
U.S. consumer price...
Stocks tanked on Wednesday after March inflation data came in hotter than expected, likely pushing off interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve that investors have been anticipating.
Investor...
U.K. consumer prices accelerated well beyond the Bank of England's target for a second month, propelled by the global disruption in supply chains that pushed up transport costs.
Consumer prices...
Australian inflation eased from 33-year highs in the first quarter as the cost of living saw the smallest rise in more than a year, while core inflation dipped below forecasts suggesting less...