UK retail sales rose by 1.8% in January, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics moments ago. This compares to a 0.4% increase in December and exceeded expectations of a 0.2% rise. Sales in the three months to January were up 0.1% compared to the three months to October. Specifically, non-food retail sales rose by 5.3%, while...
Australia's unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in January, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) at the start of Asian trading on Thursday, February 19. This figure is unchanged from December's reading, while market expectations had anticipated a rise to 4.2%. The labor force participation rate also remained stable at 66.7%. The Australian economy added...
New orders for durable goods fell in December, according to a report released moments ago by the US Census Bureau. The decline was $4.6 billion, or 1.4%, to $319.6 billion, compared to a 5.4% increase in November. This figure was better than market expectations, which had anticipated a 1.8% drop. Core orders, excluding transportation, rose 0.9% in December, compared to...
The UK's Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, rose to 3.0% year-on-year in November, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday morning, February 18. This compares to a 3.4% increase in December, matching market expectations and marking the slowest pace of growth since March 2025. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose by...
Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by approximately 2.3% year-on-year in January, according to figures released moments ago, compared to 2.4% in December. The core CPI, which excludes gasoline prices, rose to 3% year-on-year, unchanged from December. On a monthly basis, the index showed no change in January after falling by 0.2% in December, while expectations were for a 0.1%...
The ZEW Business Sentiment Index for Germany slowed in February to 58.3, down 1.3 points from 59.6 in January. This was slightly below expectations of a rise to 65.8. The index's stability in February coincided with a continued improvement in the assessment of the current economic situation in Germany, which reached -65.9, a rise of 6.8 points from January. Export-oriented...
Japanese markets closed lower on Monday, February 16, the opening session of the week, following disappointing economic data. Stocks in the private sector led the declines, while Chinese markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. The Japanese economy grew by approximately 0.1% in the fourth and final quarter of last year, ending in December, according to data released...
Data released moments ago by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, rose by 0.2% in January, compared to a 0.3% increase in December (the forecast was 0.3%). The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.3%, compared to 0.2% in December, matching expectations. However, the annual CPI...
Crude oil prices declined in midday trading during the European session on Thursday, February 12, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report today showing a downward revision in global demand forecasts. This comes as the US-Iran talks continue to be assessed. US crude (WTI) fell by approximately 0.28%, trading at $64.45 per barrel, while Brent crude traded at...
Preliminary estimates from the UK's Office for National Statistics show that the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.1% in the fourth and final quarter of 2025, matching the third quarter's reading. This was slightly below the expected 0.2% growth. The monthly reading for December also matched expectations, showing 0.1% growth compared to a revised 0.2% in November (down...