Weekly Roundup Report 19/05/2017
EVENT RECAP: WEEK ENDING 19th MAY 2017
Asia Pacific
Retail sales in China beat expectations at 10.7% however, industrial production slowed to 6.5% for April. The slowing growth in factory output will raise questions about whether China will be able to sustain economic growth at current levels.
In Australia, monetary policymakers at the RBA decided to keep interest rates on hold amid concerns of an overheating property market. The bank is concerned about current household credit conditions and borrowers’ ability to meet debt obligations. Policies were introduced to reinforce tighter lending standards and the results of these policies are yet to be realised.
Approximately 37,000 new workers were added to the labour market in April, far surpassing the 5,000 estimate. Additionally the unemployment rate dropped to 5.7%.
North America
The U.S. Housing market appears to be slowing down as the number of building permits issued during April fell to 1.23 million and new construction also declined by 2.6%.
In Canada, consumer spending rose by 0.7% in March, mainly due to higher sales of motor vehicles and parts. The index excluding automotive sales contracted by 0.2% during the period, as weaker sales in food and beverages impacted supermarkets.
Consumer prices rose by 0.4% month-on-month representing an improvement on March’s figure of 0.2%. CPI also rose by 1.6% on a year-over-year basis as energy prices have climbed further since April 2016.
United Kingdom
Consumer prices for April grew by 2.7% year-on-year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The largest contributing sector was the airline industry. Prices have now moved beyond the Treasury Committee’s price stability mandate, targeting 2% growth in annual inflation.
The U.K. Labour market appears to be strengthening, according to the ONS, with the employment rate at 74.8% representing the highest level of employment since records began in 1971. The Average Earnings Index met expectations at 2.4% growth over the previous year for the three months ending March.
Retail sales rose by 4% in April when compared with the same period last year and the rise was attributed to favourable weather conditions for the season.
Europe
Economic growth in the Eurozone rose by 0.5% in line with estimates for the first quarter. GDP in the euro area rose by 1.7% compared with the same quarter of 2016. However, the Greek economy slid back into recession.
INT
Promotions 