The Bank of Canada announced on Wednesday that it was holding its overnight interest rate at 0.25%, as the majority of market participants had been expecting. Note that a minority had expected a 25bps rate hike to 0.50%. The central bank also signaled that a rate hike would likely be …
Read More »Eurozone Consumer Confidence falls in January
The Eurozone Consumer Confidence has fallen to -8.5 in January flash estimate versus expected decline to -9.0According to the flash estimate of the European Commission’s Eurozone Consumer Confidence survey, the headline index fell to -8.5 in January versus forecasts for a drop to -9.0 from -8.4 the month prior. December’s …
Read More »Canada: Retail Sales Rise by 0.7% MoM in November
According to a report released by Statistics Canada on Friday, Canadian Retail Sales rose 0.7% MoM in November, less than the expected 1.2% rise and a sharp acceleration from October’s 1.5% MoM rise (which was revised lower from 1.6%). Statistics Canada’s flash estimate for December showed that Retail Sales most …
Read More »US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Rise to 286K
There were 286,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending January 15, data published by the US Department of Labor (DoL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed last week’s print of 231,000 (revised up from 230K) and was well above consensus market expectations for 220,000. …
Read More »Biden Urges Fed To Recalibrate Support For US Economy
During a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said it is appropriate for the Federal Reserve to recalibrate the support it provides to the US economy, given the strength of the recovery and recent price increases.“Given the …
Read More »WTI Crude Hits Highest Price Since 2014
Iraq-Turkey pipeline outage has sparked fresh supply concerns. WTI crude has hit $87.82 for the first time since September 2014 on Wednesday. A momentary outage of an Iraqi-Turkish pipeline was attributed as driving the most recent oil price gains.But the broader themes of tighter than expected market conditions and rising …
Read More »US Retail Sales Slide by 1.9% in December
US Retail Sales fell by 1.9% MoM in December, according to data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Friday. That was well below market expectations for a MoM decline of -0.1% and marked a sharp deceleration from November’s growth rate of 0.2% (downwardly revised from 0.3%). That meant …
Read More »US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Rise to 230K
There were 230,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending January 8, data published by the US Department of Labor (DoL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed last week’s print of 207,000 and came in above consensus market expectations for 200,000. to be updated …
Read More »US Annual CPI Inflation Rose to 7.0% in December
Inflation in the US, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 7.0% on a yearly basis in December from 6.8% in November, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday. That was in line with the median economist forecast for a reading of 7.0%. The MoM …
Read More »Powell: US Economy Able to Address Current, Future Covid-19 Waves
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking at the Senate hearing for his re-nomination, reiterated on Tuesday that he expects the economy to be able to deal with the current and future Covid-19 outbreaks. He also noted that inflationary pressures are set to remain elevated well into 2022. Jerome Powell, added that …
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