Europe's new car registrations grew at a slower pace in April amid heightened geopolitical risks, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed Wednesday. New car registrations grew 5.1 percent year-on-year in April, slower than the 12.5 percent increase in March.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand maintained its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday and signalled rate hikes at coming meetings. The Monetary Policy Committee, governed by Anna Breman, voted to hold the Official Cash Rate at 2.25 percent. The bank has lowered its benchmark rate by 325 basis points since August 2024, bringing it to the lowest since mid-2022.
Producer prices in Japan were up 3.0 percent on year in April, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday - beneath expectations for 3.3 percent, which would have been unchanged from the March reading. On a monthly basis, producer prices were up 0.5 percent - slowing from 1.3 percent in the previous month. Excluding...
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The RBNZ is expected to keep its Official Cash Rate steady at 2.25 percent. Australia will release Q1...
The European Central Bank "will do what is necessary" to bring inflation back to the 2 percent target, ECB policymaker and Bank of France Governor Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview to the broadcaster CNBC on Tuesday. "The data so far are telling that it's mainly a first-round effect, but we should be extremely vigilant about possible second-round effect," the policymaker said.
Consumer confidence in the U.S. saw a modest deterioration in the month of May, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dipped to 93.1 in May from an upwardly revised 93.8 in April. Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to edge down to 92.0 from the 92.8 originally reported for the previous month.
The Hungarian central bank left its key interest rates unchanged for a third policy session in a row on Tuesday, in line with expectations. The Monetary Council decided to hold the central bank base rate steady at 6.25 percent and the deposit interest rate at 5.25 percent, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank said in a statement. The lending rate was kept unchanged at 7.25 percent.
South Africa's composite leading index strengthened for the third straight month in March. The composite leading index rose 2.4 percent month-on-month to 123.0 in March from 120.1 in February. The largest positive contributors were acceleration in the six-month smoothed growth rate in the real M1 money supply and a widening of the interest rate spread.
Taiwan's industrial production growth moderated in April, while retail sales increased for the third straight month. Industrial production advanced 14.2 percent year-on-year in April, much slower than the 26.1 percent surge in March. The annual growth in manufacturing output eased to 15.1 percent from 28.0 percent. Retail sales climbed 5.2 percent yearly in April.
The jobless rate in Poland decreased slightly in April after remaining stable in the prior month. The unemployment rate came in at 6.0 percent in April, as expected, down from March's steady rate of 6.1 percent. In the corresponding month last year, the jobless rate was 5.2 percent. There were 934,300 unemployed people in April compared to 949,800 in the previous month.
Norway's unemployment rate decreased in April after remaining steady in the prior month. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped to a 3-month low of 4.6 percent in April from March's stable rate of 4.9 percent. In the corresponding month last year, the rate was 4.4 percent. There were 142,000 unemployed people in April, down from 150,000 in the previous month.
Spain's producer prices increased at the fastest pace since late 2022 in April due to the sharp rise in energy prices, the statistical office INE said Tuesday. Producer prices grew 8.3 percent year-on-year in April, marking the strongest rise since December 2022. This followed a 3.1 percent rise...
Producer price inflation in Sweden increased further in April to the highest level in more than three years amid soaring energy costs. The producer price index climbed 4.7 percent year-on-year in April, faster than the 2.0 percent increase in March. Prices for energy-related products alone surged 27.0 percent from last year, and costs for capital goods increased only by 0.6 percent.
Singapore's industrial production expanded at the quickest pace in six months in April. Industrial production advanced 17.6 percent year-on-year in April, much faster than the 9.2 percent rise in March. Among clusters, electronics output grew the most by 44.0 percent from last year, led by the infocomms and consumer electronics and semiconductors segments, on the back of robust AI-related demand.
Japan's leading index improved less than expected in March to the highest level in nearly four years. The leading index, which measures future economic activity, rose to 114.0 in March from 113.2 in January. Moreover, this was the highest reading since April 2022, when it was 114.6. The flash score was 114.5.
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.