Australian employment unexpectedly fell in March and the jobless rate rose, unwinding some of the huge upside surprise of the prior month and reflecting restrictive settings of monetary policy. The economy shed 6,600 roles, compared with a forecast gain of 10,000 and following an increase of over 100,000 in February, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. Unemployment ticked up to 3.8% from 3.7% in February. "After some wild fluctuations over the past couple of months, the labor market returned to something a little more normal," said Sean Langcake, head...
Headline inflation in the Eurozone eased by more than anticipated in March, according to preliminary data on Friday, but core prices accelerated in a sign that the European Central Bank faces lingering price pressures in the region. Figures from Eurostat showed that consumer prices in the currency area rose by 6.9% on an annualized basis, slowing from an increase of 8.5% in February. Economists had predicted the number would come in at 7.1%. It was the biggest fall since Eurostat began keeping track of the data in 1991. Undergirding the dip were energy prices, which declined for the first...
China's economy kept up its momentum in March, with manufacturing expanding at a slightly slower pace than the previous month while services activity picked up strongly. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 51.9 from 52.6 in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday, but slightly above the medium forecast of 51.6 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. A non-manufacturing gauge of activity in both the services and construction sectors surged to 58.2 in March, the highest level since May 2011. A reading above 50 points to...
Core consumer inflation in Japan's capital Tokyo slowed in March for a second month but remained well above the central bank's 2% target, data showed on Friday, highlighting broadening price pressures in the world's third-largest economy. A separate index stripping away energy prices rose at the fastest year-on-year pace since 1990, the data showed, a sign the effect of government subsidies to curb utility bills did little to stem the rising cost of living for households. The data underscores the challenge incoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda faces in assessing whether the...
The growth rate of the U.S. economy at the end of 2022 was reduced again to 2.6%, reflecting weaker consumer spending than originally reported. Initially the government said gross domestic product has increased at a 2.9% annual pace. The estimate was reduced to 2.7% last month and now it's been lowered once again. GDP is the official scorecard of the economy. The U.S. could show a similar growth rate in the first three months of 2023, Wall Street forecasts show. Hiring and consumer spending have been stronger than expected, easing worries of a potential recession, at least for now. Key...
Inflation eased significantly in Germany in March on the back of lower energy prices but was above forecasts, adding pressure on the European Central Bank to further tighten its monetary policy. German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, rose by a more-than-anticipated 7.8% on the year in March, preliminary data from the federal statistics office showed on Thursday. Compared to February, prices increased by 1.1%, it added. Analysts had expected harmonised data to increase by 0.8% on the previous month and grow by 7.5% on an annual basis. According...
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...