U.S. Initial Claims, May Philly Fed, April Housing Starts and Permits - Mixed data gives no clear signals of strength or weakness

May 21, 2026 1:15 PM UTC

The latest data is mixed, initial claims in line with expectations and showing signs of stabilizing at a still low level. May’s Philly Fed manufacturing survey is weaker than expected but with positive 6-month expectations, both on activity and prices.  April housing starts and permits are on the

FOMC Minutes from April 29: Hawkish concerns appear broadly felt

May 20, 2026 6:54 PM UTC

FOMC minutes from April 29 show a hawkish leaning, confirming market perceptions that there was more interest in removing an easing bias from the language than revealed by the three hawkish dissents at the meeting. Should inflation remain persistent, tightening could come onto the agenda, though sho

U.S. April Industrial Production - Led by a bounce in autos, but underlying trend positive

May 15, 2026 1:30 PM UTC

Following an upbeat Empire Sate manufacturing survey for May, April industrial production gives further evidence that the manufacturing sector is in good health, rising by a stronger than expected 0.7% overall with a 0.6% increase in manufacturing, though half of the latter came from autos.

Middle East Conflict: U.S. Helping Chinese Whispers?

May 15, 2026 11:26 AM UTC

 In hosting President Trump this week, China feels it is vying, if not achieving, parity with the U.S. as the world’s superpowers; from China’s perspective, it regards Russia similarly.  It does seem as if China’s goal at this summit was to get more effective flexibility in shaping Taiwan’

Preview: Due May 28 - U.S. April Personal Income and Spending - PCE Prices to underperform CPI

May 14, 2026 3:26 PM UTC

We expect April’s core PCE price index to rise by 0.3%, with overall PCE prices up by 0.5%, both slightly below respective CPI outcomes of 0.4% and 0.6%. We expect a 0.3% rise in personal income to underperform a 0.5% rise in spending, but due to lower taxes disposable personal income may outperfo

U.S. April Retail Sales - Ex auto and gasoline still showing underlying resilience

May 14, 2026 1:01 PM UTC

April retail sales with a rise of 0.5% overall, 0.7% ex autos and 0.5% ex autos and gasoline are in line with expectations, and while likely to be marginally negative overall in real terms the ex autos and gasoline data suggests continued consumer resilience. Initial and continued claims have both p

U.S. Fed's Collins - Expects restrictive policy for some time

May 13, 2026 3:57 PM UTC

Fed's Collins appears to be getting more hawkish as the energy shock persists.

Preview: Due May 14 - U.S. April Retail Sales - Consumers still resilient to headwinds

May 13, 2026 1:38 PM UTC

We expect April retail sales to increase by 0.7% overall with a rise of 0.9% ex autos, but only 0.5% ex autos and gasoline, the latter a marginal slowing from two straight 0.6% increases. Still, consumer spending continues to appear resilient to significant headwinds. 

U.S. April PPI - Strong picture restored after pause in March core rates

May 13, 2026 1:13 PM UTC

After a surprisingly low March, which saw modest upward revisions, April PPI has rebounded above expectations, rising by 1.4% overall, 1.0% ex food and energy and 0.6% ex food, energy and trade. March and April together show the strength of January and February’s core rates persists, with energy,

U.S. April Budget Surplus falls yr/yr on tax cuts and defense spending

May 12, 2026 6:16 PM UTC

As is usually the case in April, a monthly budget surplus of $215.024bn has been recorded, but this is down from $258.4bn in April 2024, as tax cuts hit revenues.

U.S. April CPI - Subdued ex food, energy and what looks like one-time strength in shelter

May 12, 2026 1:08 PM UTC

April CPI is only marginally stronger than expected on the core rate, up by 0.4%, 0.376% before rounding, and the data not alarming outside of a one-time distortion in housing. The headline gain of 0.6% was as expected, and here the rise was a little firmer at 0.64% before rounding.

Preview: Due May 12 - U.S. April CPI - Energy, air fares and a housing distortion

May 11, 2026 12:28 PM UTC

We now expect April CPI to increase by 0.6% overall and 0.4% ex food and energy, with respective gains before rounding being 0.57% and 0.41%. Energy is likely to add close to 0.2% to the overall gain and feed through from energy is likely to add around 0.1% to the core, largely in air fares. There i

U.S. April Employment - Resilience should keep easing off the near term agenda

May 8, 2026 1:04 PM UTC

April’s non-farm payroll suggests the US economy continues to grow at a respectable pace in early Q2 with no signs of a hit from the oil shock yet. Payrolls increased by a stronger than expected 115k, with unemployment stable at 4.3% and the workweek stronger at 34.3 hours from 34.2. Average hourl

U.S. Fed's Daly - Policy slightly restrictive

May 7, 2026 5:37 PM UTC

San Francisco Fed's Daly is sounding less hawkish than some district presidents.

Preview: Due May 14 - U.S. April Retail Sales - Consumers still resilient to headwinds

May 7, 2026 3:31 PM UTC

We expect April retail sales to increase by 0.7% overall with a rise of 0.9% ex autos, but only 0.5% ex autos and gasoline, the latter a marginal slowing from two straight 0.6% increases. Still, consumer spending continues to appear resilient to significant headwinds. 

Preview: Due May 8 - U.S. April Employment (Non-Farm Payrolls) - Not as strong as March but some positive signals

May 7, 2026 1:15 PM UTC

We expect April’s non-farm payroll to rise by 90k overall and by 95k in the private sector, less strong than in March but implying some improvement in trend. We expect unemployment to slip to 4.2% from 4.3% and an in line with trend 0.3% increase in average hourly earnings. 

Straits of Hormuz Scenarios

May 7, 2026 6:25 AM UTC

·       Our new baseline (70% probability) is for the Straits of Hormuz to start to partially reopen by June/July based on a framework deal between Iran and the U.S.  This means more elevated oil prices in Q2, but then a gradual reduction in WTI to USD85 end-2026 and USD75 end 2027.  The al

Preview: Due May 12 - U.S. April CPI - Energy, air fares and a housing distortion (revised)

May 5, 2026 3:47 PM UTC

We now expect April CPI to increase by 0.6% overall and 0.4% ex food and energy, with respective gains before rounding being 0.57% and 0.41%. Energy is likely to add close to 0.2% to the overall gain and feed through from energy is likely to add around 0.1% to the core, largely in air fares. There i

March US trade deficit sees a modest increase, Canada trade balance moves into surplus on higher export prices

May 5, 2026 1:03 PM UTC

March’s US trade deficit of $60.3bn was a 3-month high and up from $57.8bn in February. Exports rose by 2.0% and imports rise by 2.3%, both extending on gains of over 4% in February. 

U.S. Labour: In Praise of Older Workers

May 5, 2026 8:32 AM UTC

·       While financial pressures are prompting U.S. workers to delay retirement and work longer, this is not being realized due to deteriorating health/labour market skills mismatches and other issues. More work from older workers is unlikely to be the solution to shrinking net immigration.

U.S. Fed's Williams - Policy well positioned for uncertain economy

May 4, 2026 5:00 PM UTC

Fed's Williams' tone is quite moderate, in no hurry to change policy, contrasting hawkish concerns of some at the FOMC.

Preview: Due May 12 - U.S. April CPI - Energy to rise less sharply than in March, but air fares to lift the core

May 4, 2026 3:56 PM UTC

We expect April CPI to increase by 0.5% overall and 0.3% ex food and energy, with the latter rising by 0.33% before rounding and the highest since January 2025. Seasonal adjustments will restrain the increase in gasoline but we expect feed through of energy prices to air fares to be factor in liftin

Preview: Due May 5 - U.S. March Trade Balance - Wider goods deficit to be partly offset by rise in services surplus

May 4, 2026 12:28 PM UTC

We expect a March trade deficit of $60.4bn, up from $57.3bn in February. We expect gains of 1.5% in exports and 2.1% in imports, extending respective February gains of 4.2% and 4.3% respectively.

U.S. Fed's Kashkari, Hammack and Logan explain their hawkish dissents

May 1, 2026 2:42 PM UTC

The three hawkish dissents at the latest meeting were against an easing bias. Kashkari seems the most hawkish, with a leaning to tightening. Hammack and Logan both noted resilence in activity data as well as infltionary risk. There was a dovish dissent from Miran, but he will leave the Fed once Wars

Preview: Due May 5 - U.S. March Trade Balance - Wider goods deficit to be partly offset by rise in services surplus

April 30, 2026 3:26 PM UTC

We expect a March trade deficit of $60.4bn, up from $57.3bn in February. We expect gains of 1.5% in exports and 2.1% in imports, extending respective February gains of 4.2% and 4.3% respectively.

U.S. Q1 GDP shows solid underlying momentum and continued inflationary pressure

April 30, 2026 1:41 PM UTC

The advance estimate of Q1 GDP at 2.0% annualized is slightly weaker than expected and not an impressive bounce from Q4’s 0.5% which was restrained by a government shutdown. However the detail suggests respectable growth, as do stronger than expected March personal income and spending, and most im

FOMC - Easing call moved to December from September

April 29, 2026 7:58 PM UTC

The Fed is now entering a transition from Chairman Powell to Chairman Warsh, who looks set to be in place at the next meeting on June 17. The final meeting of Powell’s term saw three hawkish dissents on the language and Powell announce he will continue as Governor after his term as Chair ends. We

U.S. Fed's Powell - Number who want to change language has incrased

April 29, 2026 6:56 PM UTC

This is likely to be Powell's last meeting as Chair. Concern over inflation is increasing as we enter the handover to Warsh. 

FOMC keeps rates on hold but three of four dissents are hawkish

April 29, 2026 6:23 PM UTC

The main surprise in the FOMC statement was the number of dissents, one dovish, Miran continuing to call for a 25bps easing, and three hawkish, with Hammack, Kashkari and Logan in agreement with the decision to leave rates unchanged but objecting to the inclusion of an easing bias.

Preview: Due April 30 - U.S. March Personal Income and Spending - Core PCE Prices to outperform core CPI

April 29, 2026 1:26 PM UTC

March’s personal income and spending data may be overshadowed by the Q1 GDP report due at the same  time and to which it will contribute.  We expect a 0.9% rise in personal spending, to exceed both a 0.2% rise in personal income and a 0.7% rise in PCE prices. For core PCE prices, we expect an in

Preview: Due April 30 - U.S. Q1 GDP - Government to lead bounce from weak Q4, Core PCE prices stronger

April 29, 2026 1:24 PM UTC

We expect a 2.6% annualized increase in Q1 GDP, improved from a weak 0.5% in Q4 largely due to a rebound in government from Q4 data that was depressed by a shutdown. Excluding government we expect a second straight quarter close to 1.5%. We expect a significant acceleration in core PCE prices, to 4.

Preview: Due May 8 - U.S. April Employment (Non-Farm Payrolls) - Not as strong as March but some positive signals

April 28, 2026 5:12 PM UTC

We expect April’s non-farm payroll to rise by 90k overall and by 95k in the private sector, less strong than in March but implying some improvement in trend. We expect unemployment to slip to 4.2% from 4.3% and an in line with trend 0.3% increase in average hourly earnings. 

Straits of Hormuz Standoff and Mixed Markets

April 27, 2026 9:02 AM UTC

•    Equities longer time horizon means that they are hoping for a reopening of the Straits of Hormuz (though also being helped by renewed AI optimism), whereas government bond markets actually want to see tangible progress and an associated tempering of DM central banks posturing.  This dive

U.S. Initial Claims rise but still low

April 23, 2026 12:43 PM UTC

Initial claims at 214k are up from 208k and slightly higher than expected, in data that covers the survey week for April’s non-farm payroll. Trend however remains subdued.

FOMC Preview for April 29: Uncertainty keeping the Fed on hold

April 22, 2026 2:29 PM UTC

The FOMC meets on April 29 and there is little risk of a change in rates from the current target range of 3.5-3.75%. High uncertainty, both on the geopolitical situation and the future of the Fed, suggests there will be little forward guidance, and the dots will not be updated until the next meeting

Iran Conflict – Who Has the ‘Trump’ Card

April 22, 2026 9:17 AM UTC

When Trump aspires to reaching a deal, he thinks in either black or white.  But whether it be political, economic or military the reality is that the world is always various shades of grey.  This is very much evident in the way the Iran conflict was planned by the U.S. – the expected clear and r

Preview: Due April 30 - U.S. Q1 GDP - Government to lead bounce from weak Q4, Core PCE prices stronger

April 21, 2026 5:31 PM UTC

We expect a 2.6% annualized increase in Q1 GDP, improved from a weak 0.5% in Q4 largely due to a rebound in government from Q4 data that was depressed by a shutdown. Excluding government we expect a second straight quarter close to 1.5%. We expect a significant acceleration in core PCE prices, to 4.

Preview: Due April 30 - U.S. March Personal Income and Spending - Core PCE Prices to outperform core CPI

April 21, 2026 2:38 PM UTC

March’s personal income and spending data may be overshadowed by the Q1 GDP report due at the same  time and to which it will contribute.  We expect a 0.9% rise in personal spending, to exceed both a 0.2% rise in personal income and a 0.7% rise in PCE prices. For core PCE prices, we expect an in

U.S. March Retail Sales - Underlying resilience, lower taxes may be helping

April 21, 2026 1:02 PM UTC

March retail sales with a 1.7% rise, 1.9% ex autos are stronger than expected. Most of the rise is on the surging price of gasoline, though sales ex auto and gasoline with a 0.6% increase are on the firm side of expectations, with February revised up to 0.6% from 0.4% and January to 0.4% from 0.2%.

Preview: Due April 21 - U.S. March Retail Sales - Surge on gasoline prices, underlying trend subdued

April 20, 2026 12:16 PM UTC

We expect March retail sales to surge by 1.4% largely on surging gasoline prices, with sales ex auto and gasoline even stronger at 1.6%. Ex autos and gasoline we expect a rise of only 0.2%, on the weak side of a trend that has recently lost momentum.

Equities: Still a Rocky Road in 2026

April 17, 2026 12:49 PM UTC

·       Any deal between the U.S. and Iran would still be seen as a positive win in equities, as it would raise hopes that it could be followed by a multi-year settlement that could include more Iran oil and gas into the global energy markets and lower energy prices. No deal is also feasible,

DM Central Bank Signals Awaited

April 15, 2026 12:12 PM UTC

·       Fed/ECB and BOE meetings will likely see concern over the potential 2nd round inflation effects from the Iran war, but forecasts seeing inflation coming down in 2027 and no imminent signals of tightening from the ECB/BOE – our baseline remains for easing later in the year, as energy

Preview: Due April 30 - U.S. Q1 Employment Cost Index - Slightly stronger on the quarter, but slower yr/yr

April 13, 2026 12:35 PM UTC

We look for the Q1 employment cost index (ECI) to increase by 0.8%, slightly firmer than the 0.7% seen in Q4 that was the slowest since Q2 2021 but still seeing the yr/yr pace slow to 3.2% from 3.4%, reaching its slowest since Q2 2021.