US President Donald Trump hit markets with new tariff headlines on Wednesday, reiterating his insistence on 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and adding the European Union to the list of countries that will punish US consumers for importing goods from them. While redoubling his plans to fund the US deficit spending with import taxes, President Trump also delayed his own tariffs for the fourth straight time, deciding that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports will not go into effect until April. Key highlights Not stopping tariffs. Tariffs will go into effect, not all, but many. Tariffs...
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose 20,000 from the previous week to 242,000 in the period ended Feb. 22, beating market expectations of 222,000.Source: Newsmaker23
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported on Thursday that the United States' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate of 2.3% in the fourth quarter. This reading matched the initial estimate and came in line with the market expectation. "Real GDP was revised up by less than 0.1 percentage point from the advance estimate released last month, primarily reflecting upward revisions to government spending and exports that were partly offset by downward revisions to consumer spending and investment," the BEA explained in its press release. Source: FXStreet
New orders for manufactured durable goods in the US rose 3.1% month-over-month to $282.3 billion in January 2025, the most in six months and above market expectations of a 2% increase. It follows a downwardly revised 1.8% drop in December. The rebound was driven by transportation equipment, which surged 9.8%, particularly nondefense aircraft and parts (93.9%). Orders also rose for capital goods (10.7%), primary metals (1%), machinery (0.2%), computers and electronic products (1.7%), and electrical equipment, appliances, and components (0.1%). Excluding transportation, new orders were...
Pending home sales in the United States fell 4.6% in January 2025 from the previous month, following an upwardly revised 4.1% decline in December 2024. This drop pushed the index to a record low of 70.6, significantly worse than market expectations of a 1.3% decline. Sales plunged 9.2% in the South, fell 2% in the Midwest and went down 1.2% in the West but rose 0.3% in the Northeast. "It is unclear if the coldest January in 25 years contributed to fewer buyers in the market, and if so, expect greater sales activity in upcoming months. However, it's evident that elevated home prices and...