Tag Archives: Macroview

Macroview The ISM manufacturing and nonmanufacturing surveys for August declined sharply. But these surveys are not necessarily a good predictor of economic growth The ISM Manufacturing index in the US fell heavily in August. The 49.4 reading was well below consensus expectations (52.0) and its lowest level since January 2016. The Non-Manufacturing index painted a similar picture, recording its worst monthly fall since the recession of 2008-2009. It dropped from 55.5 in July to 51.4 in...

Macroview While near-term Fed rate hike has been priced in, other factors favour the greenback in the medium term. Alternatives like the Swiss franc and Australian dollar look less attractive. With a December rate hike already largely priced in, further dollar support from Fed tightening could be fairly limited in the next few months, especially as the Fed is likely to lower its rate forecasts for the coming years to take into account increasing concerns about the decline in ‘neutral’ real...

A soft monthly payroll number conceals health of the US jobs market, but a Fed rate hike may not come until December. Non-farm payroll employment rose by a modest 151,000 month on month (m-o-m) in August, below consensus expectations. Moreover, the unemployment rate remained unchanged, wage increases were soft, and the average work week declined surprisingly. However, the disappointing August nonfarm payroll number followed solid numbers in June and July. Overall, job creation has been a...

Extension of quantitative easing (QE) along with changes to how QE works may be in the offing, but an announcement might wait until December. Ahead of its 8 September policy meeting, the European Central Bank (ECB) has expressed its “concerns” over the lack of upward momentum in core inflation. In our view, it is not a question of whether the ECB will ease (QE extension is a given, and more could be needed at some stage in the future), but more about getting the sequence right in order to...

At current levels, the oil price is close to equilibrium, with little in the fundamentals to suggest a sustained move higher in prices in the coming months There were sharp movements in the price over the summer, and further volatility is likely in the coming months. WTI oil prices dropped around 25% between June and early August. Prices subsequently rallied, rising by around 20% to close to USD50/b, before dipping again at the close of August. High inventories played a key role in pushing...

Macroview Euro area inflation remains sluggish, holding out the prospect of further intervention by the ECB before year’s end. Euro area headline inflation remained broadly stable in August, at an annual rate of 0.2%, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat on August 31, while core inflation unexpectedly declined. Excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, prices rose at an annual rate of 0.8% in August, according to the flash estimate, compared with 0.9% in July. The broader picture...

Spain will try to break its nine-month political stalemate this week. Two months after the second round of general elections in Spain on 26 June, no government has been formed. Mariano Rajoy, the Popular Party (PP) leader and caretaker prime minister has been nominated by the king to head the government. The investiture debate will start on August 30, with a confidence vote on August 31. If unsuccessful, a second vote will be held on September 2, with a lower threshold for success (simple...

Data on US consumer spending in July were quite robust, auguring well for consumer spending growth in Q3. Data on US household consumption and income were published today (29 August) by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real personal consumption rose by a solid 0.3% m-o-m in July, slightly above consensus estimates (+0.2%). Previously published data on retail sales were soft, but car sales and output of utilities for July had been quite upbeat, suggesting a healthy reading for overall...

Euro area bank credit flows were pretty strong in July, despite concerns about the impact of the 23 June Brexit referendum and banks’ health. In July, bank credit to euro area non-financial corporations (NFCs) accelerated, to EUR 12bn (adjusted for sales and securitisations) compared with a rise of EUR 8bn in June and EUR 10bn in May. Lending to NFCs seems to be stable, and on a gentle upward trend. On a country-by-country basis, core countries led the increase on loans to NFCs adjusted for...

Yesterday’s flash purchasing managers index (PMI) surveys showed again a rather resilient picture for the euro area after the UK vote to leave the EU. The euro area composite ‘flash’ PMI index posted a marginal increase from 53.2 in July to 53.3 in August, slightly above consensus expectations (53.1) and reaching a seven month high. The sector breakdown showed that the services sector index increased from 52.9 in July to 53.1 in August, above consensus expectations (52.8). By contrast, the...