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This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Post-pandemic inflation is over; Fed rate cuts coming soon The confirmation that core PCE prices rose by just 0.06% m/m in November means that, over the past six months, core …
22nd December 2023
Manufacturing boosted by end of UAW strike The 0.3% m/m rebound in manufacturing output in November was, in reality, a disappointment, since it included a 7.1% m/m rebound in motor vehicle output, after the UAW union ended its strike at the Big Three …
15th December 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Solid consumption growth supports soft landing The rebound in retail sales in November provides further illustration that the continued rapid decline in inflation is not coming …
14th December 2023
Stubborn Fed demonstrates the SEP’s shortcomings The Fed’s reluctance to acknowledge that it will need to begin cutting its policy rate soon – to prevent a run-up in real rates – was predictable enough based on its intransigence ahead of previous turning …
13th December 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Stronger rise in core prices buys Fed a little more time The slightly stronger 0.28% m/m rise in core consumer prices in November suggests the Fed may be able to hang onto its …
12th December 2023
Inflation concerns easing The plunge in the University of Michigan’s consumer inflation expectations measures in December will give reassurance to the Fed ahead of its meeting next week that there are few signs of inflationary pressures reigniting. …
8th December 2023
Payrolls boosted by returning strikers The 199,000 increase in November payroll employment included 47,000 workers returning from strikes (30,000 UAW members and 17,000 SAG Aftra members). Stripping out that one-off boost, the 152,000 gain was roughly the …
Imports and exports set for further growth in Q4 Despite the widening in the trade deficit in October, net trade looks set to be only a modest drag on fourth-quarter GDP growth. But the survey evidence suggests renewed weakness in exports may still lie …
6th December 2023
Muted ISM services consistent with GDP stagnation; job openings drop back The modest rebound in the ISM services index to 52.7 in November, from 51.8, left our weighted composite index at a level consistent with an outright stagnation in GDP. Admittedly, …
5th December 2023
This page had been updated with additional analysis since the first publication. Manufacturing activity continues to struggle The unchanged reading of 46.7 for the ISM manufacturing index in November suggests that manufacturing activity continued to …
1st December 2023
Falling PCE inflation suggests rate cut speculation likely to grow The muted rise in real consumption and further decline in core PCE inflation in October will reinforce the growing belief in markets that interest rate cuts are on the horizon. Real …
30th November 2023
Equipment investment continues to struggle Aside from the plunge in the volatile transport component, the October durable goods orders data suggest that business equipment investment continues to struggle in the fourth quarter. The 5.4% m/m plunge in …
22nd November 2023
Fed offers something for everyone There is something for everyone in the minutes of the Fed’s early November policy meeting. The FOMC still just about maintained a tightening bias, but the overwhelming impression is that officials thought rates had …
21st November 2023
Output temporarily depressed by UAW strike The 0.7% m/m decline in manufacturing output in October was entirely due to the now-resolved UAW strike, which translated into a temporary 10.0% m/m fall in motor vehicle output. With the UAW securing lucrative …
16th November 2023
Despite the indefatigable consumer, price pressures fading fast Retail sales values fell by 0.1% m/m in October, but the decline was principally due to a price-related drop back in gasoline station sales and a modest 1.0% m/m decline in motor vehicle …
15th November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Downward pressure on core inflation resumes The softer 0.2% m/m rise in core consumer prices in October makes it even less likely that the Fed will raise rates any further, and …
14th November 2023
Renewed inflation concerns The continued rise in consumers’ inflation expectations in November showed that October’s jump was not a one-off and will be of some concern to the Fed. However, the headwind from persistently weak confidence is likely to weigh …
10th November 2023
Support from rebounding exports unlikely to last The modest increase in the trade deficit to $61.5bn in September, from $58.7bn, reflected strong gains in imports and exports, capping off solid quarterly rebounds in both. But with the global economy …
7th November 2023
Slowdown spreads to services sector The ISM services index fell to a five-month low of 51.8 in October, from 53.6, adding to the evidence that economic growth is slowing after a blockbuster third quarter. Unlike the renewed slump in the manufacturing …
3rd November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Third-quarter strength fading rapidly The muted 150,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in October is another sign that the economy’s strength in the third quarter is likely to unwind …
Productivity acceleration bearing down on unit labour costs Data today confirmed that the surge in GDP in the third quarter was driven by a 4.7% annualised jump in productivity, the biggest gain since 2020. While it remains to be seen whether this is the …
2nd November 2023
Fed’s tightening bias likely to be dropped soon By leaving rates unchanged while continuing to flag the possibility of further tightening to come, the Fed indicated today that it remains in ‘wait and see’ mode. But we suspect the data over the coming …
1st November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Manufacturing recovery fizzling out The surprise slump in the ISM manufacturing index to 46.7 in October, from 49.0, suggests the recent recovery in factory-sector activity is …
Sharper slowdown in wage growth still lies ahead The slightly stronger 1.1% increase in the employment cost index in the third quarter is another sign that the earlier rapid easing in labour market conditions may be fading, but the forward-looking …
31st October 2023
Stronger rise in core prices likely to be a blip The stronger gains in real consumption and the core PCE price index in September are a potential concern for Fed officials, but won’t be enough to convince them to resume raising interest rates next week, …
27th October 2023
US households still the world’s spenders of last resort On its own, the stunningly-strong 4.9% annualised gain in third-quarter GDP suggests that the Fed needs to do even more to slow demand, but just as notable was the slowdown in core PCE inflation to …
26th October 2023
Further evidence of economic strength in September The 0.3% m/m rise in industrial production in September is another sign that the real economy remains in solid shape. Production was hit by a slight 0.3% m/m drop-back in utilities output, but that was …
17th October 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Consumption solid heading into Q4 The unexpectedly-strong 0.7% m/m rise in retail sales in September continues the theme of consumer resilience in the face of higher interest …
Confidence suffers from renewed inflation concerns The sharp fall in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index to a five-month low of 63.0 in early October, from 68.1, probably reflects the hit from recent financial market moves, as well as …
13th October 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Core inflation to remain on downward trend The 0.3% m/m rise in core consumer prices in September suggests, at face value, that the downward trend in core inflation may be …
12th October 2023
Minutes stress uncertainty over economic outlook Despite the ‘higher for longer’ message from the Fed’s updated rate projections last month, the minutes from the September FOMC meeting suggest that officials’ confidence in those forecasts is limited, with …
11th October 2023
Despite strong payrolls, wage growth continues to slow The surprisingly strong 336,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in September adds to the evidence on real activity that the economy is holding up well despite the headwind from higher interest rates. …
6th October 2023
Q3 exports rebound, but outlook remains weak The trade deficit narrowed to a three-year low of $58.3bn in August, from $64.7bn, as exports increased by $4.1bn or (+1.6% m/m) and imports declined by $2.3bn (-0.7% m/m). The gain in exports was driven by a …
5th October 2023
Surveys consistent with moderate growth The small fall in the ISM services index to 53.6 in September, from 54.5, contradicted the rebound in the ISM manufacturing index. Nevertheless, the weighted average of the two ISM surveys are still consistent with …
4th October 2023
ISM hits 10-month high; construction boosted by lack of homes for sale The ISM manufacturing index rallied to a 10-month high of 49.0 in September, from 47.6, but that still leaves the index at a level that, historically, has been consistent with GDP …
2nd October 2023
Core PCE inflation slowing rapidly despite resilient consumption The August income & spending data confirm that real consumption growth strengthened in the third quarter, but also cast doubt on the market narrative that resilient growth will see interest …
29th September 2023
GDP revisions change little; recent gap with GDI remains The comprehensive benchmark revisions to the GDP data changed almost nothing of substance – the real economy was still 6.1% bigger in the second quarter of this year than it was pre-pandemic in the …
28th September 2023
Equipment investment growth still set to slow The 0.2% m/m rise in durable goods orders in August was, at first glance, better than expected, but the outperformance was mainly due to a surge in defence aircraft orders. Admittedly, gains in core orders and …
27th September 2023
Fed wants us to believe in “higher for longer” The Fed left its policy rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50% and, while the median forecast still shows one more 25bp rate hike this year, the FOMC appears to be more evenly split, with 12 in favour of that hike …
20th September 2023
Easing inflation expectations an encouraging sign for Fed The small fall in the University of Michigan index suggests that consumers remain downbeat in September. But the bigger news was the fairly sharp drop-back in households’ inflation expectations – …
15th September 2023
Drop back in motor vehicle output not a concern The 0.1% m/m increase in manufacturing output in August was marginally better than we had expected, but doesn’t change the broader picture, which is that, with global manufacturing still struggling, the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Consumer strength fading The 0.6% m/m rise in retail sales values in August was mostly due to price-related strength in gasoline sales, with the muted 0.1% rise in underlying …
14th September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Downward trend in core inflation still firmly intact The Fed will look through the 0.6% m/m jump in headline CPI in August as it was driven by the recent rally in energy prices. …
13th September 2023
Modest rise leaves index at subdued level The rise in the ISM services index to a six-month high of 54.5 in August, from 52.7, is a further sign that activity growth is holding up in the third quarter. That said, a weighted average of the two ISM surveys …
6th September 2023
Trade deficit widens, as consumer goods imports rebound Net external trade is on track to provide a modest positive contribution to third-quarter GDP growth, despite the widening in the monthly trade deficit to $65.0bn in July, from $63.7bn. Exports …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Still consistent with weak output growth and slower inflation The further rise in the ISM manufacturing index to a six-month high of 47.6 in August, from 46.4, is another sign …
1st September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Labour market strength fading rapidly The 187,000 gain in non-farm payrolls, jump in the unemployment rate and slowdown in wage growth in August all add to the evidence that …
Consumption boosted by heatwave Real consumption increased by a bigger than expected 0.6% m/m in July, which will result in another round of upward revisions to third-quarter GDP growth. Our own forecast is now up to 2.3%. But the strength in July is …
31st August 2023
Big gap between GDP and GDI persists Second-quarter GDP growth was revised down marginally to a still-healthy 2.1% annualised from 2.4%, but the alternative GDI (gross domestic income) measure suggests the economy expanded at a much slower 0.5% annualised …
30th August 2023
Solid growth not yet prompting Fed rethink Fed Chair Jerome Powell underscored the FOMC’s commitment to data dependence in his Jackson Hole speech today, but there was no suggestion that signs of economic resilience have already prompted Fed officials to …
25th August 2023