US consumer sentiment rose markedly toward the end of March, supported by strong stock-market gains and expectations that inflation will continue to ease. The University of Michigan's sentiment index climbed to 79.4 from 76.5 earlier in the month, reaching the highest since mid-2021, according to the final March reading issued Thursday. The 2.9-point gain from the preliminary reading was the biggest intramonth increase since August 2022. Americans expect prices will climb at a 2.9% rate over the next year, compared with the 3% expected earlier in the month. They see costs...
Chinese banks maintained their benchmark lending rates on Wednesday, following the central bank's recent decision to stand pat on monetary policy. The one-year loan prime rate was held at 3.45%, in line with almost all of the 22 forecasts from economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The five-year rate, a reference for mortgages, was kept at 3.95%, according to data from the People's Bank of China, also as expected. China is struggling to revive borrowing demand as the property market keeps slumping and consumer confidence remains near a record low. Loans grew...
The Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged as widely expected on Tuesday, and said that while inflation had moderated substantially in recent months, it still remained too high. But the central bank struck a somewhat less hawkish note in its policy statement than its prior meeting, no longer explicitly stating that interest rates could rise further. The RBA left its official cash target rate at 4.35%, leaving it on hold for a third straight meeting since November. The move was widely expected by analysts, as Australian inflation eased substantially over the past year. But...
China's factory output and investment grew more strongly than expected at the start of the year, as Beijing targets an ambitious annual economic growth goal of around 5%. Industrial output rose 7% in January-February from the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday, faster a median estimate of 5.2% rise by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Retail sales increased 5.5%, roughly in line with projections. Growth in fixed-asset investment was 4.2% in the first two months of the year, much stronger than a forecast 3.2% gain. Investment...
US consumer sentiment mostly held steady in early March as Americans grew somewhat more cautious about the outlook ahead of the presidential election. The sentiment index ticked down to 76.5 from 76.9 in February, according to the preliminary March reading from the University of Michigan. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 77.1. Consumers expect prices will climb at an annual rate of 3% over the next year, unchanged from the prior month, data Friday showed. They still see costs rising 2.9% over the next five to 10 years. Sentiment has been...
The New York Fed's Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, fell 18.5 points in March to negative 20.9, the regional bank said Friday. The drop was much larger than expected. Economists had expected a negative 6 reading, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal. Source: Marketwatch
Japan's inflation hit 3% for the first time in over three decades excluding the impact of tax hikes, an acceleration that adds to the doubts over the need for continued central bank stimulus. The...
Defisit perdagangan A.S. menyempit pada bulan April karena ekspor dan impor turun, menyoroti dampak dari tarif Presiden Donald Trump bahkan sebelum negosiasi dengan China terurai dan ia mengancam...
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...