U.S. Industrial Production Rose 0.8% In March
U.S. industrial production rose 0.8% in March. The consensus was at 0.6%, February (up 0.2%) reading was at 0.1%. On year level industrial production is up 5.9%.
Archive for April, 2011
April Empire State Manufacturing At 21.7
Empire State Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index for April came out at 21.7 vs. 17.0 consensus and prior reading of 17.5.
Positive surprise.
U.S. Consumer Price Index Rose 0.5% In March
U.S. consumer price index rose 0.5% in March vs. 0.5% consensus and February reading of also 0.5%. On year level CPI inflation is running at 2.7%.
Year-on year inflation is rising, but nowhere near alarming rates (jet).
China March CPI Inflation At 5.4%; PPI Inflation At 7.3%
China Consumer Price Index was up 5.4% in March, vs. 5.2% consensus and 4.9% February reading. Both food and non-food CPI’s were higher, at 11.7% y-o-y and 2.7% y-o-y, respectively vs. 11.0% y-o-y and 2.3% y-o-y in February. Services CPI also rose to 4.2% y-o-y vs. 3.8% y-o-y in February, pointing to slight (for the time being) wage-driven inflation pressure.
China Producer Price Index was up 7.3% vs. 7.2% consensus and 7.2% February reading. This suggests rising CPI.
More tightening ahead.
China Q1 GDP Growth At 9.7%
China first quarter GDP growth was reported at 9.7%, vs. fourth quarter 2011 growth rate of 9.8%. Consensus was at 9.4%.
The slowdown most notably occurred in secondary industries (mining, constructionand manufacturing) on the back of monetary tightening.
U.S. Producer Price Index Rose 0.7% In March
U.S. producer price index rose 0.7% in March vs. 1.0% consensus. February reading was at 1.6%. On year level PPI is up 5.7%.
Daily Reading – Thursday, April 14, 2011
*** FT Alphaville: This year’s oil bill – $2,400bn according to Morgan Stanley ***
*** FT Alphaville: Glencore’s trading strategies disclosed! ***
*** FT Alphaville: Goldman says there’s been a copper collateral crackdown ***
*** FT Alphaville: Greek-out! Again! ***
*** The Big Picture: Corporate Tax Rates, Then and Now ***
*** The Big Picture: Hoenig: The New GSEs Are Citi, Bank of America ***
*** The Big Picture: Why Has No One on Wall Street Gone to Jail (Yet)? ***
*** Macro Man: Plants vs Zombies ***
*** Casandra Does Tokyo: Credit Where Credit is Due ***
*** The Reformed Broker: Peak Fish and Other Insights from Agriculture 2.0 ***
*** Slope Of Hope: Staring at a Beautiful Top ***
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims At 412.000; Up 27.000
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. were reported at 412.000 vs. 380.000 consensus and last week revised (up 3.000) reading of 385.000.
Four weeks mostly unchanged in the last 6 readings.
U.S. Petroleum Weekly – April 14, 2011
Goldman doesn’t like markets taking their research lightly, so it issued sell recommendations twice.
Same as it issued sell recommendation ahead 2008 crude oil record run.
Look at the gasoline stocks.
China Monetary Expansion Speeds Up In March
The most broad measure of money supply – M2 rose 16.6% y-o-y in March vs. 15.4% consensus and 15.7% rise in February.
Chinese banks issued CNY 679.5 billion of new loans in March vs. CNY 535.6 billion in February and consensus of CNY 600.0 billion. The government has not provided a target for this year, but inferring on Q1 numbers the pace of loan growth could be similar to last years pace.
U.S. Retail Sales Rose 0.4% In March
U.S. retail sales were reported up 0.4% in March vs. o.5% consensus. February reading was at +1.1% (revised from +1.1%). On year level retail sales are up 7.1%.
MBA Mortgage Applications Fell 6.7%
MBA mortgage applications fell 6.7%; Prior reading was a fall of 2.0%; On year level MBA Basic Index is down 8.4%.
U.S. Trade Deficit At $-45.8 Billion In February
U.S. trade balance for February was reported at $-45.8 billion vs. consensus of $-44.0 billion and January reading of $-46.3 billion.
NFIB Small Business Optimism Index For March At 91.9
NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for March was reported at 91.9 vs. consensus of 95.0 and prior reading of 94.5.
Higher commodity prices kicking-in…
Daily Reading – Tuesday, April 12, 2011
*** FT Alphaville: Goldman jolts commodities market ***
*** FT Alphaville: The qualifier in Yellen’s speech ***
*** FT Alphaville: Japan, nuclear accident upgrades, economic downgrades ***
*** FT Alphaville: UK inflation *non fail* shock ***
*** Pragmatic Capitalism: PIMCO GOES SHORT… ***
*** The Big Picture: What’s Driving Gold? ***
*** Credit Writedowns: The Sell-Off in Paper Gold ***
*** Slope Of Hope: Doe-Eyed Optimism ***