A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday showed regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly weakened in the month of May. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity plummeted to a negative 0.4 in May from a positive 26.7 in April, with a negative reading indicating contraction.
New residential construction in the U.S. pulled back sharply in April but still came in well above economist estimates, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Commerce Department said housing starts slumped by 2.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.465 million in April after soaring by 12 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 1.507 million in March.
The UK private sector registered a renewed downturn in May amid the growing impact of the war in the Middle East. The flash composite output index fell to 48.5 in May from 52.6 in April. The score was expected to fall to 51.6. The downturn in the British private sector was driven by a renewed fall in service sector output, which contrasted with a stronger upturn in manufacturing production.
The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first time-claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended May 16th. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 209,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 213,000.
The European Commission downgraded its growth outlook for the euro area economy citing the unprecedented disruption to global energy markets due to the conflict in the Middle East. In the Spring Economic Forecast, the commission said the currency bloc is set to grow 0.9 percent this year, slower than the 1.2 percent projected earlier. The forecast for next year was trimmed to 1.2 percent from 1.
Households in Denmark remained more pessimistic in May. The consumer confidence index worsened to -19.8 in May from -18.6 in the previous month. The opinion regarding households' financial situation over the next year turned more pessimistic, with the respective index falling to -9.5 from -6.8 in April.
The euro area current account surplus declined in March largely due to the fall in goods trade surplus, the European Central Bank said Thursday. The current account surplus fell to EUR 15 billion from EUR 26 billion in February. In the same period last year, the surplus totaled EUR 29 billion. The...
Poland's industrial production growth moderated in April, while producer prices increased for the second straight month. Industrial production advanced 3.1 percent year-over-year in April, slower than the revised 7.5 percent growth in the prior month. Producer prices rose 1.9 percent yearly in April, following a 1.2 percent increase in March, which was the first rise since July 2023.
A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday showed regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly weakened in the month of May. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity plummeted to a negative 0.4 in May from a positive 26.7 in April, with a...
New residential construction in the U.S. pulled back by much less than expected in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Commerce Department said housing starts slumped by 2.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.465 million in April after soaring...
The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first time-claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended May 16th. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 209,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000. Economists...
Italy's current account surplus increased notably in March from the previous year. The current account surplus rose to EUR 1.75 billion from EUR 0.28 billion in the corresponding month last year. The goods surplus decreased somewhat to EUR 3.75 billion from EUR 3.76 billion. Meanwhile, the deficit in services trade narrowed to EUR 1.9 billion from EUR 2.1 million.
Hong Kong's consumer price inflation held steady for the second straight month in April. The consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 1.7 percent year-over-year in April, the same as in the previous two months. Inflation based on transportation rose to 4.3 percent from 3.9 percent amid higher fuel costs, while food inflation moderated to 0.7 percent from 0.9 percent.
Switzerland's industrial production declined at the steepest pace in nearly six years. Industrial production fell 7.1 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, much faster than the 0.4 percent drop in the fourth quarter. Manufacturing output logged a renewed contraction of 7.1 percent, and the energy supply segment continued to decline by 6.9 percent
The euro area private sector registered a renewed contraction in April as the war in the Middle East took its toll on business activity, flash survey data from S&P Global showed Thursday. The flash composite output index logged 47.5 in May, down from 48.8 in the previous month. The score was expected to remain stable at 48.8.
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.