Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary
|The Expansion Plods Along in a Quiet Data Week
U.S. Review
- Housing market data were generally mixed this week, with builder confidence and housing starts declining while existing home sales rose.
- Despite a healthy 0.5 percent increase in industrial production in March, the devil was in the details. The largest surge in utilities output on record masked a decline inmanufacturing production.
- The Leading Economic Index (LEI) posted another broadbased gain in March. Our recession forecasting model, which heavily incorporates the LEI, shows a very small chance of a recession in the next six months.
Global Review
It’s Official: The Global Economy Is Improving
- The latest IMF global forecast just confirmed what we have been observing for almost half a year: that the global economy was on the mend and that we expect an improvement in economic growth across the world. The IMF’s forecast for this year is now 3.5 percent versus 3.1 percent for 2016.
- The Chinese economy grew at a 6.9 percent rate in the first quarter of the year, year over year, a tad higher than what markets were expecting and is the third consecutive improvement in a similar number of quarters.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.