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Sentiment rebounding from historically weak level The further rise in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index to 64.6 in January, from 59.7, illustrates that consumers have taken some encouragement from the fall in energy prices. Nevertheless, …
13th January 2023
Core CPI continues to moderate The 0.1% m/m decline in headline CPI in December was principally due to a 9.4% m/m drop in gasoline prices, but core consumer prices also increased by a more modest 0.3% m/m, extending the run of weaker monthly gains to …
Another more muted gain in core CPI Core CPI inflation was still an elevated 5.7% in December but, with another more muted 0.3% m/m gain, the three-month annualised rate fell to a 20-month low of 3.1%. Admittedly, the latter is still slightly above the …
12th January 2023
Slump in gasoline prices drives decline in headline CPI Consumer prices declined by 0.1% m/m in December, helped by a 9.4% m/m drop back in gasoline prices and a more modest 0.3% m/m increase in food prices. The pace of monthly gains in food away from …
The apparent resilience of employment in December has boosted hopes that the US can avoid a recession, but we still think that is unlikely. Employment is a coincident indicator whereas the only genuine leading indicators in the employment report – …
9th January 2023
The data this week suggested that the weak global backdrop is being compounded by a deterioration in domestic activity, although the labour market still appears to be in good health. Domestic weakness adding to external headwinds The November trade data …
6th January 2023
Sharp decline illustrates that recession still more likely than soft landing The slump in the ISM services index to a 19-month low of 49.6 in December, from 56.5, is another signal from the surveys that despite the resilience of employment growth, …
Labour market data boost odds of a soft landing The solid 223,000 gain in non-farm payrolls and drop-back in unemployment to a 50-year low in December will, at face value, do little to ease the Fed’s concerns about resilient core services inflation. …
Wage growth slowing despite employment resilience The solid 223,000 gain in non-farm payrolls and drop-back in unemployment to a 50-year low in December will, at face value, do little to ease the Fed’s concerns about resilient core services inflation. …
Models point to recession soon Our composite models continue to suggest that a recession this year is a near-certainty, with the implied odds of the economy being in recession in six months’ time and in one year’s time both above 90% as of December. …
5th January 2023
Trade hit by domestic and external weakness The sharp narrowing of the trade deficit to $61.5bn in November, from $77.8bn, came as a big fall in exports was offset by an even sharper drop in imports. Net trade still looks to have been a small drag on …
Fed doubling down on hawkish views The minutes of the Fed’s December policy meeting reveal officials in hawkish mood, with participants arguing that “a restrictive policy stance would need to be maintained until the incoming data provided confidence that …
4th January 2023
The latest JOLTS data suggest that labour market conditions remain quite tight and a lot more adjustment is needed to ensure that the drop back in price inflation to 2% will be sustained. While the job openings rate was unchanged at 6.4% in November, …
Index drops into recessionary territory The decline in the ISM manufacturing index to a two-and-a-half year low of 48.4 in December, from 49.0, is another sign that the economy lost more momentum at the tail-end of last year. Nearly all the survey-based …
Weaker ISM shows activity stalling, but labour market conditions remain tight The decline in the ISM manufacturing index to a two-and-a-half year low of 48.4, from 49.0, is another sign that the economy was losing momentum at the tail-end of last year. …
We estimate that employment growth slowed more sharply in December, with non-farm payrolls rising by 160,000. The unemployment rate probably edged up to an 11-month high of 3.8%. Although employment growth has been solid in recent months according to the …
3rd January 2023
This week brought further signs of slowing activity growth and falling inflation, trends we expect to intensify next year. Meanwhile, Congress has averted a government shutdown, but there appears to be a growing risk of another damaging stand-off over the …
23rd December 2022
Q4 growth looking ok, but economy losing momentum Real consumption is on course for solid growth of 3.5% annualised in the fourth quarter, but the income and spending data show that it stalled in November. The soft durable goods orders data for last month …
Q4 growth looking ok, but economy losing momentum Real consumption is on course for solid growth of around 3.5% annualised in the fourth quarter, but the income and spending data show that it stalled in November. The sharp fall in durable goods orders …
The November CPI report marked the second successive undershoot in inflation and there is mounting evidence that it will continue to fall sharply in 2023. (See Chart 1.) Core goods prices are coming under broad-based downward pressure, as easing supply …
21st December 2022
Despite the Fed’s continued hawkishness, the further softening in core inflation and weakness of the early activity data in November leave us more convinced that the FOMC will be cutting interest rates again by the end of next year. Fed’s new …
16th December 2022
Consumer resilience starting to fade The 0.6% m/m falls in retail sales and manufacturing output in November suggest that the economy has lost some serious momentum, with the resilience of consumers to much higher interest rates starting to crumble. …
15th December 2022
Further signs that economy is losing momentum The 0.6% drop in manufacturing output last month matches the already-reported decline in retail sales and provides further evidence that the economy has lost some serious momentum. With weak global growth and …
Consumer resilience starting to fade The 0.6% m/m fall in retail sales in November suggests that the resilience of consumers to much higher interest rates is starting to crumble. Solid gains in previous months mean real consumption growth should still be …
Despite the increasingly compelling evidence that core inflation will fall sharply next year, the Fed doubled down on its hawkishness today. We now expect two 25bp hikes from the Fed next year, with the fed funds rate peaking at 4.75% to 5.00% in …
14th December 2022
The Fed strikes back Despite the increasingly compelling evidence that core inflation will fall sharply next year, the Fed simply doubled down on its recent hawkishness. As expected, the Fed issued an identical statement and raised interest rates by a …
Despite some mixed signals in the recent data, we still expect the tentative easing of labour market conditions already seen to push wage growth lower soon, with that slowdown gathering pace as employment growth continues trending lower. The November …
13th December 2022
Stick a fork in it, inflation is done The Fed will still hike its policy rate by 50bp tomorrow and the new projections could show the peak in rates above 5%, but the 0.2% m/m increase in core consumer prices in November provides strong support to our …
Stick a fork in it, inflation is done The Fed will still hike its policy rate by 50bp tomorrow and the new projections could show the peak above 5%, but the 0.2% m/m increase in core consumer prices in November provides strong support to our long-held …
The worsening tripledemic of Covid, influenza and RSV is unlikely to have a significant impact on economic growth, but it could weigh on employment and hours worked over the next few months. Covid case numbers remain relatively low but have been rising …
11th December 2022
Sentiment remains at recessionary levels The small rebound in the University of Michigan index to 59.1 in December, from 56.8, indicates that the slump in gasoline prices and recovery in the stock market is supporting consumer sentiment. But the index …
9th December 2022
Fed could be upstaged by CPI data The Fed is used to holding centre stage, but next Wednesday’s policy announcement could end up being overshadowed by the November CPI data, due for release on Tuesday. If we’re right and core prices increased by another …
Money growth has stagnated as the Fed’s monetary tightening ramps up, and, while bank loan growth remains robust, we expect it to fade in response to the lagged impact of higher rates and tighter credit conditions. (See Chart 1.) To the extent that …
8th December 2022
Pace of tightening to slow with 50bp rate hike Powell to maintain hawkish line; projections may show higher peak in rates But further good news on inflation will prompt a rethink soon The Fed is set to slow the pace of tightening with a 50bp rate hike …
7th December 2022
The better-than-expected 263,000 gain in non-farm payroll employment suggests it’s still the best of times in the labour market but, digging below the surface, there are worrying signs that it could be the worst of times soon. Although non-farm payroll …
6th December 2022
Deficit widens on shift in pharmaceutical trade The trade deficit widened to $78.2bn in October, from $74.1bn, as the weakness in global demand began to weigh on exports, which declined by $1.9bn. At the same time, imports increased by $2.4bn, as a …
Deficit widens on shift in pharmaceutical trade The trade deficit widened to $78.2bn in October, from $74.1bn, as the weakness in global demand began to weigh on exports, which declined by $1.9bn. At the same time, imports increased by 2.4bn, as a further …
Activity still holding up, for now The rebound in the ISM services index to 56.5 in November, from 54.4, leaves it consistent with the recent consumption data in pointing to decent activity growth in the fourth quarter. But we suspect that resilience will …
5th December 2022
Overview – We expect the lagged impact of higher interest rates to push the real economy into a mild recession next year. Although that downturn will be accompanied by only a modest rebound in the unemployment rate, we expect both headline and core …
With weaker growth overseas and the drag from the stronger dollar now pushing exports lower, the resilience of consumption is the only thing keeping the economy from falling into recession. Mixed signals for Q4 GDP Although third-quarter GDP growth was …
2nd December 2022
Resilience in payrolls and wages won’t stop Fed from slowing rate hike pace The resilience of the labour market and the resurgence in wage pressures don’t change our view that core price inflation is going to fall more rapidly than the Fed believes, and …
Strength in employment & wages won’t prevent Fed from slowing rate hike pace The resilience of the labour market and the resurgence in wage pressures don’t change our view that core price inflation is going to fall more rapidly than the Fed believes, and …
Index drops below 50 mark The decline in the ISM manufacturing index to 49.0 in November, the lowest reading since the early stages of the pandemic, from 50.2, leaves it at a level consistent with a stagnation in broader economic growth. The decline in …
1st December 2022
Index slips below the 50 mark The decline in the ISM manufacturing index to 49.0 in November, the lowest reading since the early stages of the pandemic, from 50.2, leaves it at a level consistent with a stagnation in broader economic growth. The decline …
Real consumption boosted by motor vehicle rebound The strong 0.5% m/m increase in real spending in October illustrates that consumers are not buckling under the weight of higher interest rates, at least not yet. That gain follows a 0.3% m/m increase in …
The further falls in job openings and voluntary quits in October indicate that labour market conditions are continuing to ease gradually, which should keep downward pressure on wage growth. The fall in the job openings rate to 6.3% in October left it in …
30th November 2022