The Reserve Bank of Australia will on Tuesday release the minutes from its August 11 monetary policy meeting, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. At the meeting, the RBA kept its benchmark lending rate steady at 4.35 percent following 25 basis point hikes in February, March...
The volume of retail sales in New Zealand was down a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2026, Statistics New Zealand reported on Monday - coming in at NZ$26 billion. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.1 percent and was down from 0.9 percent in the previous...
New Zealand will on Monday release Q2 figures for retail sales, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Retail sales are expected to slip 0.5 percent on quarter after rising 0.9 percent in the previous three months. Core retail sales are tipped to sink 0.6 percent on quarter after...
The euro area private sector expanded the most in nine months in August driven by strong growth in manufacturing, flash survey data from S&P Global revealed Friday. The composite output index climbed unexpectedly to 52.1 in August from 52.0 in July. The reading was seen at 51.7. Manufacturing production increased at the fastest pace in four-and-a-half years.
France's private sector contracted further in August due to the downturn in services activity, survey data from S&P Global showed Friday. The headline composite output index fell to 48.8 in August from 49.4 in July. A score below 50.0 indicates contraction and it was also below forecast of 49.5. The downturn in overall activity was entirely driven by services companies.
Japan's headline inflation accelerated to a seven-month high in July on rising food and energy prices, strengthening the expectations for a September interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan. Japan's private sector expanded at the fastest pace in six months in August driven by a steeper increase in new orders, survey data from S&P Global showed Friday.
Overall consumer prices in Japan were up 1.9 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 1.8 percent following the downwardly revised 1.6 percent gain in June (originally 1.7 percent. On a seasonally...
The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in July, and at a steady pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a manufacturing purchasing managers index score of 52.0. That's unchanged from the June reading, and it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that...
New Zealand posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade deficit of NZ$1.9 billion in July, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday/ That badly missed forecasts for a shortfall of NZ$175 million following the NZ$23 million deficit in June. Exports climbed 14 percent on year to NZ$7.4 billion, down...
Japan will on Friday release July figures for consumer prices, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In June, overall inflation was up 0.3 percent on month and 1.7 percent on year, while core CPI rose an annual 1.6 percent. Japan also will see preliminary August results for...
Producer prices in South Korea were down 0.4 percent on month in July, the Bank of Korea said on Friday - following the flat reading in June. Individually, prices for agricultural, forestry and marine products rose 1.5 percent on month, while manufacturing products added 0.5 percent, utilities slipped...
Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in the month of August, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity climbed to 47.4 in August from 41.4 in July, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to plunge to 25.0.
The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits expectedly declined in the week ended August 15th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 206,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000.
Australia will on Thursday release July numbers for unemployment, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The jobless rate is expected to hold steady, with the addition of 11.4K jobs following the increase of 76.3K in June. Japan will provide July data for imports, exports and...
Unless inflation declines, many Federal Reserve officials believe an increase in interest rates would likely be necessary, according to the minutes of the central bank's latest monetary policy meeting released on Wednesday.
August 21, 2026 14:42 ET The minutes of the latest policy meeting of the Federal Reserve, housing market data and manufacturing sector survey results were the main news for the U.S. economy this week. In Europe, inflation data from the U.K. was the highlight, while consumer price data from Japan drew attention in Asia.