FYI: Last week was fairly busy in economic data with 31 releases spaced throughout the week; most of which came in weaker. Monday’s Retail Sales report for January offered some relief (but also confusion) from the awful December print. While January’s readings showed growth, the already bad readings from December were revised even lower. CPI data on Tuesday showed lower increases than January and came in lower than expected with the headline and core measures rising only 1.5% and 2.1%, respectively. Further in inflation data, on Tuesday Core PPI also missed estimates, though, it was in line with expectations. Friday was a rough day for industrial data as Industrial Production missed estimates, and Empire Manufacturing fell even as expectations called for an increase.
Turning to this week, it will be slightly less busy with only 23 releases compared to last week’s 31. Leading off was NAHB Homebuilder Sentiment which missed expectations coming in unchanged from last month. After Factory Orders tomorrow, there will be an FOMC rate decision on Wednesday, though, no one is expecting a change in rates. Thursday and Friday will have some big releases with the Philly Fed’s Business Outlook, Leading Indicators, preliminary Markit Manufacturing and Service PMIs, and the Budget Statement.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/this-weeks-economic-indicators-3-18-19/
