Global Economic News Weekly Update

Global Economic News Weekly Update

New Zealand's Retail Sales Surpass Forecasted Growth at 0.6%

New Zealand's Electronic Card Retail Sales for October surprised everyone as it increased by 0.6%, much better than the estimated growth of 0.1% and also above the previous 0.1%. The positive outcome suggests healthy levels of consumer activity and resilience among retail purchases in the wake of worldwide economic concerns. However, a forecast of 0.0% is predicted for the next release on December 11, 2024.

Jobless claims in the U.K. fall sharply in October

The UK's claimant count for change in October was at 26.6K, much lower than expected at 89.6K and higher than the previous 10.1K. This low number reflects a need to receive unemployment-related benefits to a lesser extent than otherwise, so labor markets were stronger than forecasted. Even though it is up, it stands for a pretty stable job market that still is there. Forecast to rise by 25.1K for the next update on December 12, 2024.

Germany Economic Sentiment Drops

Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment Indicator fell in November to 7.4 from 13.1 and below the forecast of 29.7. This is a sign that investors and analysts are becoming more pessimistic about Germany's economy, mainly because of inflation, problems with supply chains, and geopolitics. The reading for December 17, 2024, is expected to worsen to  -16.5, showing the degree of alarm.

US Core CPI Rises 0.3% in October

U.S. Core CPI measured an increase of 0.3% for October, like last month the same as above but a bit short of expectations at 0.4%. The inflation pressures continue to level off, which could be important for any further interest rate moves by the Federal Reserve. The next Core CPI that comes out is on December 11, 2024, and will likely increase by 0.3%, carrying along the moderate inflation spree.

Australian employment growth slowed in October

The level of employment in Australia in October was lower than expected at 15.9K jobs, less than the 60.0 K expected figure and less than the previously recorded 61.3 K. Next release on December 12, 2024, displays an increase of 24.4K jobs, thus offering a better view of the trend of the job market.

US PPI Unexpectedly Rises by 0.2%

PPI final data is 0.2%, unexpectedly higher than an anticipated decrease of 0.1%. There is also more support for wholesale-level price pressures in this report. The PPI for December 12th, 2024 is expected to rise by 0.8%, which may actually translate into considerable costs for businesses.

GDP in EU 0.4% in the 3rd Quarter

The EU's GDP also came in as projected with a 0.4% gain in Q3 2024, though this represented only 0.2% ahead of the previous quarter. This results in the continued steady but very fragile recovery in the EU, but much uncertainty can be removed only with future releases.