brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 After a paltry (and negatively revised) January figure (-1.2%), retail sales rose 0.2% in February but meaningfully lagged the consensus expectation of a 0.6% increase. Retail sales are up 3.1% in the last year, which outpaced the latest headline inflation reading. The February […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 February’s headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.2% month-over-month (MoM) and rose 2.8% year- over-year (YoY). Both MoM and YoY headline data came in below expectations, driven lower by moderating energy and food prices. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Institute for Supply Chain Management (ISM) Manufacturing report for February was released showing a second consecutive month of expansion in the manufacturing sector. However, the index grew less than anticipated, striking concerns about falling demand and higher prices. The ISM Services report […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 January’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report came in at +0.3% month-over-month (MoM) and +2.5% year-over-year (YoY), in line with estimates, driven by increases in service costs. Higher prices in housing, utilities and healthcare services contributed to the overall rise, while goods inflation remained […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 Minutes from the January Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting and housing data highlighted a short and otherwise quiet week for economic data domestically. Abroad, however, a number of important geopolitical events – including a meeting between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia discussing […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 January’s headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading increased 0.5% month-over-month (MoM) and rose 3.0% year-over-year (YoY). Both MoM and YoY headline data came in above expectations, driven higher by energy and food prices. Energy prices, which were largely deflationary last year, have risen […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing index increased by 1.7 points to 50.9 in January, signaling expansion for the first time since 2022. (Levels above 50 signal expansion; levels below contraction.) The growth was driven by a rise in new orders and […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Federal Reserve (Fed) met on Wednesday to set interest rate policy, deciding that the current level of rates was sufficient and held them steady. This move was largely anticipated by investors, who expected a pause in the rate-cutting cycle by Fed officials […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) ticked down by 0.1% in December 2024 after an upwardly revised increase of 0.4% in November. Lower consumer confidence, relatively weak manufacturing orders, higher initial jobless claims, and declining building permits pushed the index lower. Despite […]