Economy.com Daily Update: April 28, 2022

Today's Economy

High-yield issuance has perked up a little.

Despite a slight advance in the first quarter, Mexico continues to underperform.

The Swedish monetary authority hikes the repo rate, with more to come.

For the first time, the PBoC announced a cut to the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio.

Commentary

The economy contracted 1.4% on an annualized basis, according to the BEA's preliminary estimate.

Russia cuts off Poland and Bulgaria from its gas supply.

CPI data show the importance of demographics and housing costs.

Investment inflows may be due for moderation in 2022.

Today's Economic Indicators

Thailand
Industrial Production
Mar. 2022: -0.1%
Rising inflation has weighed on Thailand’s factory output, with March industrial production falling 0.1% over the year, compared with 2.5% y/y (revised) growth in February.

Norway
Unemployment rate
Feb. 2022: 3.1%
Norway’s unemployment rate ended the month of February at 3.1% as a three-month moving average.

Denmark
Retail Sales
Mar. 2022: -0.3% m/m
Retail sales in Denmark dropped 0.3% in March from February, the second consecutive monthly drop.

Spain
Unemployment
2022Q1: 13.7%
Spain’s unemployment rate went up to 13.65% in the first three months of 2022 from 13.33% in the previous quarter.

Sweden
Monetary Policy
Apr. 2022: 0.25%
Sweden’s Riksbank took a decisive step in tightening its policy stance at its April meeting by hiking its repo rate to 0.25% from 0% previously.

Sweden
Retail Sales
Mar. 2022: 0.2% m/m
Sweden’s retail sales, excluding motor fuels, rebounded by 0.2% m/m in March after shrinking 0.1% in February.

Taiwan (China)
GDP
2022Q1: 3.1% y/y
Taiwan's headline economic growth in the first quarter was 3.1% over the year, slightly exceeding our expectations for 2.8% growth, as the high base effects from 2021 came in.

Hong Kong SAR (China)
Foreign Trade
Mar. 2022: -HK$37.3 bil
Hong Kong posted a bigger than expected HKD37.3 billion deficit in March.

Belgium
Consumer Price Index
Apr. 2022: 8.3% y/y
Consumer price growth in Belgium remained steady in April, clocking in at 8.3% y/y, same as last month.

France
Job Seekers
Mar. 2022: 2.94 mil
The number of job seekers in France inched down to 2.94 million this March from 2.95 million in February.

Ireland
Retail Sales
Mar. 2022: 0.6% m/m
Irish retail sales volume excluding motor trades increased 0.6% m/m in March following a 0.2% m/m decline in February.

Chile
Employment
Mar. 2022: 7.8%
The national unemployment rate averaged 7.8% in the January-March rolling quarter, down from 10.4% a year earlier.

United States
Jobless Claims
April 23: 180,000
U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance are low, and this is more important than the drop in GDP in the first quarter, which is backward looking.

Canada
Earnings, Hours and Employment
Feb. 2022: 2.4% y/y
Job growth in February edged forward by 0.8%.

United States
GDP
2022Q1: -1.4%, q/q, SAAR
U.S.

Mexico
Employment Situation
Mar. 2022: 3.0% Unemployment
After the seasonal effect in the first two months of the year, Mexico's unemployment rate started to trend down in March.

United States
St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index
April 22: -1.43
U.S. financial conditions improved last week with the St.

United States
Natural Gas Storage Report
April 22: 40 bil cubic feet
Last week’s increase in natural gas stocks closely matched analyst predictions, suggesting that this report will have little impact on pricing.

United States
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey
Apr. 2022: 25
Manufacturing activity in the Tenth District eased in April.

South Korea
Industrial Production
Mar. 2022:

South Korea
Retail Sales
Mar. 2022: