The Bank of Canada (BoC) has decided to maintain its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.25%, as the economy remains in need of support, according to the bank’s statement on Wednesday. Now the Canadian central bank expects to keep the current level of interest rates until …
Read More »US Retail Sales Rebound Sharply in March
Retail Sales in the US rose by 9.8% in March to $619.1 billion, the data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Thursday. This reading followed February’s contraction of 2.7% and surpassed the market expectation of 5.9%.
Read More »Turkey: CBRT Leaves Policy Rate Unchanged at 19%
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) announced on Thursday that it left its policy (one-week repo) rate unchanged at 19% as expected. In its policy statement, the central bank refrained from repeating last month’s pledge to “decisively” maintain a tight policy.
Read More »Germany’s Merkel: Current COVID-19 Infection Rate is Much Too High
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that the current coronavirus infection rate is “much too high” and added that the third wave may be the toughest yet. “Vaccine production capacity must be increased significantly, both in Europe and in Germany,” Merkel noted.
Read More »US: Annual Core PPI Rises to 3.1% in March
The Producer Price Index (PPI) in the US for final demand rose to 1% in March from 0.5% in January, the monthly report published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Friday. On a yearly basis, the PPI jumped to 4.2% from 2.8%. Further details of the publication …
Read More »Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, Has Died
Buckingham Palace: The death of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, this morning to be updated…
Read More »US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims rise to 744K
There were 744,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending April 3, the data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed the previous print of 728,000 (revised from 719,000) and came in worse than the market expectation of …
Read More »ECB’s Lagarde: Euro Area Activity Should Pick Up
Pandemic and related containment measures will continue to adversely affect Euro area economic activity in the short term, says the ECB President Christine Lagarde at the 43rd IMFC meeting. “Beyond the short term, Euro area activity should pick up.”“The risks surrounding the Euro area growth outlook have become more balanced.”“Underlying …
Read More »German Industrial Orders Rise on Strong Domestic Demand in February
Data showed that German industrial orders rose for the second consecutive month in February, driven by strong domestic demand, in another indication that manufacturers are about to cushion the impact of the pandemic-related decline in production in general in the first quarter. But the growth prospects for Europe’s largest economy …
Read More »Canada: International Trade Surplus Narrows to $1.04 Billion
Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the world narrowed to $ 1,04 billion in February from $ 1.2 billion in January, the monthly data published by Statistics Canada revealed on Wednesday. This reading came in slightly better than analysts’ estimate for a surplus of $ 1 billion.
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