April’s US retail sales and the Canadian CPI inflation reports will be in the spotlight today as market analysts scrutinise financial data coming from China. Chinese National Bureau of Statistics has reported that the retail sales for April increased by 18.4%, on an annualized basis. This is almost 3% below what analysts had expected. The report showed that industrial production rose by 5.6% on a yearly basis, missing analysts’ expectations.
Office for National Statistics, UK (ONS), announced the increase in unemployment in the UK for the January-March period, which came in at 3.9%. According to the ONS, the increase in unemployment was due to the increased number of people without a job for more than one year.
US Retail Sales in April
April’s US retail sales report will be published by the US Census Bureau later today. Market analysts predict that retail sales will rise by 0.7% on a month to month basis. Some analysts believe that a positive retail figure coupled with a strong labor market could help the US avoid recession.
The Financial Times (FT) reported that “the outlook for retail sales is mixed as continued strength in the labour market and wages is likely to support consumer spending.”
Canada’s April CPI inflation report
On Wednesday,…
