Japan January Household Spending Posts 11th Straight Y/Y Drop as Vehicle Purchases Slip After Recent Rebound, Consumers Remain Frugal
–Home Maintenance, Repairs Also Down; Pent-Up Demand for Travel Wanes–Eating Out Continues Growing; Tuition, Medical Costs Also Rise on Year–Real Household Income Posts 16th Straight Y/Y Drop on Elevated Costs but Up in Nominal Terms By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s real household spending posted its 11th straight drop on the year in January, down […]
Bank of Canada Keeps Policy Rate at 5% for 5th Straight Meeting as Officials Seek Further Easing in Inflation
–Governing Council Still Concerned About Inflationary Risks, Particularly Persistent Underlying Price Pressures –Some Signs that Wage Pressures in Canada Are Easing –Governor Macklem: Too Early to Consider a Rate Cut; Clear Consensus Time is Not Now By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Canada on Wednesday maintained its policy interest rate — the […]
White House and Other Schedules for Wednesday, March 6
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following are Wednesday’s schedules for the White House, Treasury, USTR, the State Department and Capitol Hill as well as U.S. economic data and Federal Reserve events: GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2024 In the morning, the President will receive the President’s Daily Brief. This meeting will be closed press. In-Town PoolWires: […]
Preview: Bank of Canada Expected to Keep Policy Rate at 5%, Keep Close Watch on Underlying Inflation, Economic Growth
–Governing Council Focus Remains on Inflation Expectations, Wage Growth, Corporate Pricing–Governor Macklem Wants to See Clear Downward Momentum in Underlying Inflation By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Canada is widely expected to maintain its policy interest rate — the target for overnight lending rates — at 5.0% on Wednesday for a fifth straight […]
ISM: US Services Sector Expands for 14th Straight Month in February but Main Index Dips on Mixed Employment Picture, Supplier Deliveries
–ISM Services Index at 52.6 Vs. 53.4 in December, Just Above 12-Month Average of 52.4 –ISM’s Nieves: Employment Index Slips but Some Firms Still Trying to Fill Positions –Nieves: Inflation Views Vary; Prices Paid Index Lower but Has Been in Growth Territory for Nearly 7 Years By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Business activity in the […]
Japan February Tokyo Core CPI Annual Rate Picks Up to 2.5% After Easing to 1.8% in January as Base Effect of Utility Subsidies Wanes
–Influx of Asian Visitors During Lunar New Year Holidays Also Boosts Hotel Fees–January Data Revised Up as New Data Collection Method for Overseas Package Tours Applied–Total CPI Annual Rate Accelerates to 2.6% from 1.8%–Core-Core CPI (Ex-Fresh Food, Energy) Y/Y Rise Slows to 3.1% from 3.3% By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Consumer inflation in Tokyo, the […]
Fed’s Logan, Waller Urge Slow, Cautious Approach to Slowing Quantitative Tightening
– Officials Also Continued to Advocate Cautious Approach to Rate Cutting By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – With near unanimity, Federal Reserve officials have taken a cautious, gradual, “risk management” oriented approach to an eventual reduction of short-term interest rates, and Friday some outlined a similar viewpoint on the quantitative side of monetary policy. Neither […]
US February ISM Manufacturing in Contraction for 16th Straight Month on Pullback in New Orders, Production Mainly due to Seasonal Adjustments
–ISM Manufacturing Index 47.8 Vs. 49.1 in January; Median Forecast 49.5–ISM’s Fiore: Index Likely to Rise Above Neutral Line of 50 in March or April–Fiore: Pandemic-era Seasonal Adjustments Causing Volatility in Subindexes By Max Sato (MaceNews) – U.S. manufacturing activity was in contraction territory for the 16th straight month in February, with the key index […]
Japan January Core CPI Annual Rate Decelerates to 22-Month Low of 2.0% on Further Drop in Subsidized Energy Prices, Slower Food Markups, Smaller Hotel Fee Rise
–Total CPI Y/Y Rise Also Slows to 22-Month Low of 2.2% But Above Consensus–Core-Core CPI (Ex-Fresh Food, Energy) Annual Rate Eases to 11-Month Low of 3.5%–Resumed Web Scraping Data Collection Causes Spike in Overseas Package Tour Prices, Leading to Slower-Than-Expected CPI Easing–Services Costs Up 3.2% Y/Y Amid Wage Hikes Vs. Goods Prices +1.9% By Max […]
UPDATE: Fed’s Jefferson, Harker Urge Cautious Approach to Cutting Interest Rates
–Harker Q&A: Does Not See FOMC Cutting Rates as Soon as March, But Maybe in May By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson said Thursday that the Fed must be “careful” and “nimble” in charting the course of monetary policy in coming months, but gave no hint of when he […]