Economy.com Daily Update: February 24, 2017

Today's Economy

Seasonal factors are largely the cause.

High-frequency model projects quarterly growth of 2.2%.

High labor market informality hinders growth.

Rising fuel costs lift inflation, cool other spending growth.

Commentary

The uptick in shipments has boosted prospects for various Asian nations in early 2017.

Domestic demand likely will have been the main engine of growth in Spain.

India’s economy slowed dramatically in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Subdued demand-driven inflation and lower credit growth are keeping monetary policy accommodative.

Today's Economic Indicators

Singapore
Industrial Production
Jan. 2017: 2.2%
Stronger global demand will support Singapore’s manufacturing in early 2017.

France
Consumer Confidence
Feb. 2017: 100
France's consumer confidence remained at its long-term average of 100 in February, after reaching that value from in the previous month for the first time since October 2007.

Italy
Industrial New Orders
Dec. 2016: 2.8%
Italy's new industrial orders rose by 2.8% in December, above our estimates, following a 1.7% rise in November.

Italy
Consumer and Business Confidence
Feb. 2017: 104
Italy’s business confidence has held up relatively well despite elevated political uncertainty.

Brazil
Employment Situation
Jan. 2017: 12.6%
Brazil’s unemployment reported the traditional seasonal rebound at the beginning of the year.

Canada
Consumer Price Index
Jan. 2017: 2.1%
Inflation accelerated in January, fueled by higher gasoline and shelter prices.

World
Moody's Analytics Global HPI
2016Q4: 4.5%
Global house price growth has been relatively stable and it will not likely break from this mold soon.

Mexico
Retail & Wholesale Sales
Dec. 2016: 9.0%
Retail sales ended the year with solid growth despite slow employment and high inflation.

United States
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey
Feb. 2017: 96.3
The final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index came in at 96.3 in February, down 2.2 points from January, the first monthly decline in the final index since October.

United States
New-Home Sales
Jan. 2017: 555,000
January home sales recovered some of the ground lost in December and are still trending up despite slowing in the second half of last year.

United States
ECRI Weekly Leading Index
February 17: 144.6
Economic growth will continue over the coming quarters as the economy approaches full employment.

Argentina
Economic Activity Indicator
Dec. 2016: -0.21%
The statistics office’s monthly economic activity index (IMAE) fell 0.21% y/y in December, following a 1.4% drop in the previous month.

Colombia
Monetary Policy
Feb. 2017: 7.25%
Colombia’s central bank continues to ease monetary conditions gradually as the economy decelerates and inflation declines.