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We continue to believe that core PCE inflation will return to the 2%target on a sustained basis early next year, as labour market conditions gradually ease. Up until recently we would also have argued that the risks to that view lay mostly on the …
3rd October 2024
Service sector on fire; but price pressures could be rebounding The surge in the ISM services index to a 17-month high of 54.9 in September, from 51.5, is a good reminder that the contrasting weakness in manufacturing is not a systemic threat to the …
The August JOLTS data provides some reassurance against fears that labour market conditions will deteriorate further, while the sharp fall in the private quits rate suggests that core services inflation will moderate. The rebound in the job openings rate …
1st October 2024
Some signs of life in manufacturing The ISM manufacturing index was unchanged in September, although the jump in the production index and rebound in new orders paint a slightly less negative picture heading into the fourth quarter. The unchanged reading …
GDP-GDI gap resolved Leading up to this week’s annual revisions to the national accounts, we were attuned of the risk that the expenditure-based real GDP measure might be revised lower to match up with the income-based real GDI, given the wide gap that …
27th September 2024
Core price pressures easing; Q3 consumption growth solid As we calculated based on the earlier price data releases, the core PCE deflator increased by a muted 0.13% m/m in August, with the headline deflator up by 0.09% m/m. Admittedly, although the …
We think labour market conditions continued to ease in September, with a 100,000 rise in non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate edging up to 4.3%. Payroll gain to ease further The 142,000 rise in non-farm payrolls in August was stronger than the July …
26th September 2024
GDP revision shows stronger income growth; core orders rally At first glance the annual revision to the national accounts doesn’t appear to have had much of an impact – with second-quarter GDP growth left unchanged at 3.0% and core PCE inflation unchanged …
The strike at East and Gulf Coast ports is unlikely to trigger major economic disruption. Many retailers have made plans in anticipation of the strike and our sense is that, this close to the election and despite recent denials, President Biden would have …
25th September 2024
Increased supply and weak demand are both contributing to the slowdown in house price growth. The recent sharp drop in mortgage rates should cause the market to retighten, but it will take time for that to show up in house prices, which work with a …
24th September 2024
Overview – With inflation normalising due to improving supply, the Fed is in the fortuitous position of being able to lower interest rates even though economic growth remains solid and the unemployment rate is still relatively low. Despite the downshift …
23rd September 2024
Fed opts for a 50 despite strong GDP growth Fed goes big The Fed’s decision to start its rate cutting cycle with a bang was not a big surprise after the seemingly coordinated media articles late last week warning that the 25bp vs 50bp debate was closer …
20th September 2024
Our US Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. After kicking off its loosening cycle with a 50bp cut, we suspect the Fed will now revert to 25bp moves until the fed funds target range reaches 3.00% to …
19th September 2024
The Fed did cut its policy rate by a bigger 50bp today, to between 4.75% and 5.00%, but the vote was not unanimous and the new rate projections point to smaller 25bp cuts at the remaining two FOMC meetings this year. Accordingly, today’s announcement is …
18th September 2024
A hawkish 50 The Fed did cut its policy rate by a bigger 50bp, to between 4.75% and 5.00%, but the vote was not unanimous and the new rate projections only shows an additional 50bp of cuts between now and the end of this year. Accordingly, today’s …
Despite the US being a net oil exporter, the recent plunge in the oil price will be a tailwind for the economy, as lower gasoline prices support consumer confidence and real consumption. The Fed will largely look through the impact on headline inflation, …
17th September 2024
Manufacturing output rebounds, but challenges remain Manufacturing output rebounded strongly in August as the temporary disruptions to production from the previous month were reversed. Together with last month’s solid gain in control group retail sales, …
Consumers remain resilient The stronger-than-expected retail sales data for August suggest that, boosted by rapid wealth gains and falling energy prices, consumers continue to spend freely despite the labour market slowdown. With control group sales …
Low saving rate not a major concern The continued decline in the saving rate, which is now close to a 16-year low, is not a major concern given the recent surge in household net wealth. Furthermore, as the saving rate is calculated from two different …
16th September 2024
25bp vs 50bp debate finely poised The 25bp vs 50bp debate seemed settled following Governor Christopher Waller’s speech shortly after the August Employment Report, in which he suggested that he was leaning toward the smaller move. The cautious tone of …
13th September 2024
Consumer mood improves, but remains sour Despite the small rise in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index in September, consumer confidence remains in a slump. At face value, weak sentiment points to softer consumer spending, but confidence …
PPI also points to another muted gain in core PCE The August PPI data provide more encouragement for the Fed that inflation has been tamed. Together the CPI and PPI data point to a muted 0.14% m/m increase in the core PCE deflator last month, with the …
12th September 2024
Recent data favour a 25bp vs a 50bp interest rate cut in September New SEP to show more cuts this year We expect 200bp of cumulative rate cuts vs 250bp priced into markets With the labour market data more consistent with an economic slowdown rather than …
11th September 2024
Inflation tamed rather than vanquished The 0.28% m/m increase in core CPI in August appears to be consistent with a slightly below-target 0.15% m/m increase in the Fed’s preferred core PCE deflator measure. But we doubt that modest undershoot would be …
Unemployment rate drops back The 142,000 rise in non-farm payrolls and fall in the unemployment rate to 4.2% confirmed that some of the weakness in July was due to temporary factors, with the number of people on temporary layoff falling by 190,000. That …
6th September 2024
Labour market experiencing slowdown rather than collapse The 142,000 gain in non-farm payroll employment in August was probably just enough to tip the Fed in favour of a measured 25bp rate cut this month, rather than a more dramatic move, but the labour …
ISM services survey adds little to the 25bp vs 50bp debate Although the ISM services index was essentially unchanged in August, that is still something of a relief following the weak ISM manufacturing report earlier this week and the gloomy tone of the …
5th September 2024
Although job openings fell sharply in July, the totality of the JOLTS data points to a labour market that continues to normalise, rather than one rapidly deteriorating. That leaves it up to the August Employment Report to determine whether the Fed kicks …
4th September 2024
Net trade set to weigh on GDP again this quarter The July trade data suggest that net trade will weigh on third-quarter GDP growth, but that is hardly cause for concern when it reflects the continued strength of imports, painting a better picture of …
Manufacturing stuck in a rut The ISM manufacturing index was essentially unchanged in August, leaving it consistent with manufacturing output and GDP growth losing momentum in the third quarter, and a sharp drop in the new orders index reduces the …
3rd September 2024
Harris supports dramatic increase in taxes After unveiling plans to boost spending and cut taxes for the middle-class in a big speech a couple of weeks ago, Vice President Kamala Harris has quietly acknowledged since then that she intends to pay for those …
30th August 2024
Price pressures well behaved despite strength of real economy The July income and spending report shows price pressures remaining muted despite the strength of real consumption. The latter suggests that third-quarter consumption growth will be 3.7%. Even …
We forecast a healthier 170,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in August, alongside a small fall in the unemployment rate to 4.2%. Wage growth should remain at 3.6%. Together, that would be consistent with a 25bp rate cut by the Fed next month. Beryl impact on …
29th August 2024
Durable goods boosted by aircraft rebound The bigger than expected 9.9% m/m rebound in durable goods orders in July was entirely due to a massive rebound in aircraft orders. Excluding transport, core orders fell by 0.2% m/m in July, while June’s gain was …
26th August 2024
The dovish speech from Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium suggests that the Fed will be choosing between a 25bp and a 50bp cut at its meeting in September. A 50bp cut would look less likely if the unemployment rate drops back this month, …
23rd August 2024
Dovish Powell hints at potential for 50 bp cut Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish tone at Jackson Hole today and pledge to do “everything we can to support a strong labour market” implies that a 50 bp cut could be on the table at the September meeting, …
Fed minutes confirm September rate cut The minutes of the Fed’s late July policy meeting showed broad agreement that “it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting” in September. While the weak July Employment Report released since …
21st August 2024
Downward revisions leave employment growth still healthy The 818,000 downward revision implied by the preliminary benchmark estimate to the non-farm payroll data were roughly in line with what we had expected based on the earlier data implied by the …
The weaker July employment report and another set of mild inflation data mean the Fed remains on track to cut interest rates in September. With the activity data still supportive of our view that the economy is heading for a soft landing, we doubt the Fed …
19th August 2024
Kamala Harris unveiled her economic plan today and it appears to be focused on mostly small-scale pocket-book populist issues. Our main take-away is that, like her opponent Donald Trump, she has shied away from promoting any large-scale deficit-financed …
16th August 2024
More good data all round More good price data The July price data should have provided more relief for any Fed officials still worried about inflation. The PPI, CPI and import price data imply that the Fed’s preferred core PCE measure increased by 0.16% …
Rebound in confidence driven by political change The small rebound in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index in August was entirely driven by recent political developments, and still leaves it below its level for most of this year. At face …
Temporary disruptions hit IP The fall in manufacturing output in July was entirely driven by temporary disruptions which should reverse this month. Excluding those temporary factors, this is a strong report which, together with last month’s solid gain in …
15th August 2024
Don’t bet against the American consumer There was almost nothing in the July retail sales report for the perma-bears to latch on to, with the rebound in retail sales led by a recovery in vehicle sales, but encouragingly broad-based with control group …
CPI consistent with a 25bp rate cut rather than 50bp The 0.15% m/m increase in all-items CPI and the 0.17% increase in core CPI in July suggest that, after the temporary relapse in the first quarter, the disinflationary trend has firmly reasserted …
14th August 2024
Muted PPI is more good data The muted 0.1% m/m increase in final demand PPI and unchanged core PPI for July is not quite as good as it looks, but it is nevertheless consistent with the Fed’s preferred core PCE prices measure increasing at a below-2% …
13th August 2024
Economy still nowhere near recession In purely mechanical terms, the limited data released this week did trigger a downward revision to our third-quarter GDP growth forecast to 1.7%, from 2.0%. But only because the June trade data sets up for a slightly …
9th August 2024
Domestic demand remains intact There was little sign of weakening domestic demand in the international trade data for June, with imports rising. Exports rose even more sharply, causing the trade deficit to narrow, although the forward-looking indicators …
6th August 2024
Despite the weakness of the latest labour market data, we judge that a soft landing is still the most likely outcome for the economy. Nonetheless, the risk of a hard landing has increased, while the disorderly market reaction – if sustained – could prompt …
5th August 2024
Rise in ISM services index should soothe recession fears The rebound in the ISM services index to 51.4 isn’t much to get excited about given it remains weak, but the corresponding increase in the employment index should soothe concerns that the labour …
