Quarterly national accounts, business and consumer sentiment survey results from Germany and retail sales and public finance from the UK are the top economic news due on Friday. At 2.00 am ET, Destatis releases Germany's GDP data for the first quarter. The preliminary estimate showed that the largest euro area economy expanded 0.3 percent after rising 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
Consumer prices in Japan were up 1.4 percent on year in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was in line with expectations and down from 1.5 percent in March. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, inflation was up 0.3 percent - again matching forecasts...
The total volume of seasonally adjusted retail sales was NZ$26 billion, up 0.9 percent on quarter, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday. That was unchanged from the previous quarter, although it beat expectations for a gain of 0.5 percent. The total value of seasonally adjusted retail sales was...
Consumer sentiment in South Korea jumped to optimism in May, the latest survey from the Bank of Korea revealed on Friday with a consumer confidence index score of 106.1. That's up from 99.2 in April and moves back above 100, which signifies optimism versus pessimism. Consumer sentiment regarding...
Japan will on Friday release April numbers for consumer prices, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In March, overall inflation was up 0.4 percent on month and 1.5 percent on year, while core CPI rose an annual 1.8 percent. New Zealand will provide Q1 data for retail sales,...
The Treasury Department on Thursday revealed the details of this month's auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes. The Treasury announced plans to sell $69 billion worth of two-year notes, $70 billion worth of five-year notes and $44 billion worth of seven-year notes. The results of...
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...
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.