- Year-over-year growth in the ECI likely fell below 4% in Q1, almost back to its inflation target-consistent rate.
- California fast food price rises driven by the minimum wage hike will have a microscopic impact on the CPI.
- Ignore the 3.9% Q2 growth forecast from GDPNow; its estimates are often way off this early in the quarter.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- A second Trump administration apparently has plans for the Fed; none of them are good; some are wild.
- The March rise in the core PCE deflator matched expectations; muted increases are coming in Q2.
- Strong real consumption growth in Q1 was driven partly by a falling saving rate; expect the reverse in Q2.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- The Q1 data suggest upside risk to our 0.28% March core PCE forecast, but 0.3% rounded still looks likely.
- Q1 GDP growth was better beneath the hood; the headline was hit by a big foreign trade drag...
- ...But expect drags in Q2 from inventories and residential investment, as well as slowing consumption growth.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- Durable orders were stronger than we expected in March, but they still fell in Q1 as a whole.
- GDP likely rose by 2.6% in Q1; this week's data have triggered only marginal changes in our forecast.
- Time lags and generous seasonals mean today's initial claims data likely will be little changed, again.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- US - Slowing incomes and a rising saving rate threaten consumption
- EUROZONE - A decade covering the EZ; what have we learnt, and what’s next?
- UK - Inflation surprise cannot be dismissed as Easter volaility
- CHINA+ - China begins to flesh out its consumer goods trade-in plan
- EM ASIA - Malaysian manufacturing growth will only pick up further from Q1
- LATAM - Brazil’s economy starts 2024 on a solid footing, but challenges loom
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)Global
- S&P's employment index has inaccurately pointed to sharp slowdowns in growth in payrolls before...
- ...but its grim message should be taken seriously now, given that it is echoed by the NFIB survey.
- Easter effects point to a downside surprise in durable goods orders ex-transportation.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- S&P's PMI is too unreliable a guide to GDP to be useful, but its soft inflation signal should be taken seriously.
- Annual retail sales revisions could have significant implications for consumption growth in Q1.
- New home sales probably rose in March, capping a strong quarter for residential investment.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- Last year’s strong consumption was due to rapid real income growth; the saving rate rose.
- Real income growth will be much slower this year, so if the saving rate keeps rising, spending will suffer.
- Consumption might slow gradually, but in the 2001 business cycle recession, growth lurched down.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- We think GDP rose at a 2.6% quarter-on-quarter pace in Q1, powered primarily by consumers’ spending.
- Data released before the GDP estimate next Thursday, however, could shift our forecast materially.
- Home sales likely still have further to fall in Q2, despite their big drop in March.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- Ignore the fall in the LEI in March—Q1 GDP growth will be brisk—but it should become a better guide soon.
- Look out for an above-consensus rise in jobless claims today as Easter distortions unwind; the trend is rising.
- February’s surge in existing home sales looks like an anomaly; expect a plunge in March.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
Large fall is likely an Easter timing quirk; the trend still looks flat.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
LABOR MARKET WARNING SIGNS ARE FLASHING RED…
- …BUT CHAIR POWELL SEES NO “CRACKS”
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- US The core PCE deflator for March likely will scrape in just below 0.3%
- Eurozone Hunting for early Easter effects in the German and French CPIs
- UK Bernanke Review a missed opportunity for the BoE
- China+ China begins to flesh out its consumer goods trade-in plan
- EM Asia Singaporean manufacturing on a gradual recovery path, at best
- LATAM Broadening disinflation paves way for bold COPOM rate cut in May
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)Global
- Chair Powell signals that the Fed requires much more data to start easing soon; June odds down again.
- The widening spread between part-time and full-time job growth is an alarming signal for payrolls.
- The early Easter hit March housing starts but, in any event, a sustained recovery is some way off.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
Too volatile to make us fear a renewed downturn in manufacturing.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- Homebase data point to a mere 120K rise in private payrolls in April, but the range of possible prints is wide.
- Strong March retail sales and upward revisions mean Q1 consumption likely rose by more than 3%.
- The early Easter likely depressed housing starts in March, offsetting support from further mild weather.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
- Slowing wage gains, normalized supply chains, and a shrinking money supply will constrain inflation…
- …But anything can happen over periods as short as a few months, and the Fed is backward-looking.
- March core retail sales appear to have been soft, capping a sluggish first quarter.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US
Goods disinflation continues; margins and other services still sticky.
Ian Shepherdson (Chief Economist, Chairman and Founder)US