In one line: Held back by a plunge in energy output; core production did better.
Claus Vistesen (Chief Eurozone Economist)Eurozone
In one line: Going nowhere, but turnover jumped in February.
Claus Vistesen (Chief Eurozone Economist)Eurozone
Festive spending boosts Singaporean retail sales growth in February
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- The initial March jobs numbers were even stronger than Homebase implied, but things can change…
- ...We’re sticking to our base-case view that payroll growth will slow markedly in the second quarter.
- Monetary tightening works with long lags, and multiple indicators now point to slower hiring and rising layoffs.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- Brazil’s industrial output is weak in Q1, due to tight financing conditions and despite some bright spots.
- Rising business confidence signals manufacturing will gain momentum in Q2.
- The external accounts remain robust; the 12-month trade surplus is at historic highs…will this continue?
Andrés Abadía (Chief LatAm Economist)Latin America
- Singaporean retail sales growth jumped to 8.4% in February, from 1.6% in January…
- …Bolstered by Lunar New Year festive demand falling in February, compared with January in 2023.
- We still expect a gradual moderation in retail sales this year as wage and employment growth slows.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- Industrial production in the Eurozone likely jumped in February but fell over Q1 as a whole.
- Retail sales data point to a subdued EZ consumer in Q1, but the services numbers will look better.
- Our Nowcast model points to EZ GDP stagnating in Q1, but it is too downbeat; a 0.2% rise is more likely.
Claus Vistesen (Chief Eurozone Economist)Eurozone
- We expect quarter-to-quarter GDP growth to average 0.3% this year, driven by rising household real income.
- Energy-price cuts will pull inflation below 2% in Q2; sticky services will return inflation above 2% in Q4.
- We expect the MPC gradually to ease its restrictive policy, with the first cut in June and 75bp total in 2024.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- The Homebase jobs data signal March strength; we expect 225K headline payrolls and 175K private…
- ...But the NFIB survey’s hiring intentions measure points to much weaker numbers in Q2.
- Low snow cover likely boosted hours worked and depressed AHE, but the Fed only cares about the ECI.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- A busy week for Andean economies amid economic and political developments.
- Chile’s central bank maintained its stance of gradual easing and flagged inflation risks.
- Upward revisions to growth and inflation forecasts in the IPoM point to a smoother easing path ahead.
Andrés Abadía (Chief LatAm Economist)Latin America
- Japan’s Tankan for large manufacturers deteriorated for the first time in a year.
- The silver lining is optimism for the non-manufacturing sector, storming to its highest since 1991.
- Nothing in the survey will surprise the BoJ, and we expect interest rates to reach 0.20% by end-2024.
Kelvin Lam (Senior China+ Economist)China+
- The fall in Swiss inflation in March solidifies our view that more SNB rate cuts are on the way this year.
- EZ house prices fell in Q4 and were down by 1.1% in 2023 overall; we look for another 1% drop this year.
- The PMI adds to the evidence that Spain’s economic outperformance continued in Q1; we concur.
Melanie Debono (Senior Eurozone Economist)Eurozone
- We think GDP was unchanged month-to-month in February, after rising 0.2% in January.
- Poor weather likely weighed on construction, but services and manufacturing probably grew slightly.
- That would put GDP on track to rise 0.2-to-0.3% in Q1, above the MPC’s forecast of 0.1%.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
Cost pressures ease further for services companies
Oliver Allen (Senior US Economist)US
