Kritika Jain

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Today’s UK retail sales data were consistent with a trend toward slower consumer spending though not as slow as many UK economists had expected. 

Some of the key points from this report were as follows-

•	Retail sales volume rose by 0.3% m/m in April, following a rise of 0.5% rise in April. The consensus forecast, however, was centred on a contraction of 0.2%m/m 

•	The headline increase in retail sales volumes was predominantly driven by a rise in online activity which benefitted from an increase in demand for outdoor equipment and summer clothing. May also saw a return of growth in sales volume of fuel stores. 

•	In contrast, food stores’ sales volume fell by 0.5% following a monthly gain of 0.6% in April. 


United Kingdom

UK Retail Sales Post a Positive Surprise

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Tom Moeller

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The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services (BOP basis) of $69.4 billion in March compared to a $69.5 billion in February, revised from $68.9 billion, and an unrevised $67.6 billion in January, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit remained nearly the largest since April 2023 which was $72.2 billion. A $69.1 billion deficit had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Exports fell 2.0% and were roughly unchanged y/y, reversing a 2.2% February rise. Imports declined 1.6% (+3.1% y/y) in March, following three straight months of moderate gain.

The deficit in goods trade (BOP basis) increased to $92.5 billion in March from $91.7 billion in February. Goods exports fell 2.9% (-2.8% y/y) after rising 2.8% in February. Imports of goods declined 1.6% (+2.5% y/y) following three straight monthly increases. The services trade surplus increased to $23.1 billion in March from $22.2 billion in February but remained down from a peak surplus of $25.2 billion last August. Services exports eased 0.2% (+6.0% y/y) following four consecutive monthly increases. Services imports declined 1.7% (+5.4% y/y) after rising 4.7% in February.

The real (inflation-adjusted) goods trade deficit (customs value; chained 2017 dollars), widened to $88.6 billion in March, the largest deficit since April of last year, from $87.4 billion in February. Real exports of goods declined 3.2% (-0.7% y/y) after rising 2.0% in February. Real imports of goods fell 1.5% (+2.5% y/y) after three straight monthly increases. In the first quarter of this year, a widening of the trade deficit (net exports) subtracted 0.86 percentage points from GDP growth after adding 0.25 percentage points to growth in Q4 2023.

The customs value goods trade deficit widened to $91.5 billion in March from $90.5 billion in February. The latest figure compared to a $91.8 billion deficit in the advance report released on April 25. Customs value exports fell 3.0% (-1.7% y/y) in March after a 2.8% February increase. Automotive vehicles, parts & engines rose 0.6% (-1.7% y/y) while nonfood consumer goods excluding autos declined 1.8% (-5.1% y/y). Capital goods exports excluding autos weakened 3.7% (+3.1% y/y) while exports of industrial supplies & materials fell 3.0% (-4.1% y/y). Foods, feeds & beverages exports were off 8.2% (-1.5% y/y).

Customs value imports of goods declined 1.6% (+2.6% y/y) in March after increasing for three straight months. Automotive vehicles, parts & engines imports fell 11.1% (+6.1% y/y) while capital goods imports excluding autos rose 0.1% (7.4% y/y). Foods, feeds & beverage imports declined 3.5% (+5.2% y/y). Imports of industrial supplies & materials fell 2.9% (-7.0% y/y) but nonfood consumer goods excluding autos rose 4.8% (4.1% y/y). Meanwhile, petroleum imports declined 2.5% and were unchanged y/y in March, following a 1.6% February rise. Nonpetroleum imports weakened 1.5% (+2.8% y/y) following three straight monthly increases.

The rise in services exports reflected a 0.7% increase (12.4% y/y) in personal, cultural & recreational services and a 1.3% decline (+24.9% y/y) in travel services exports. Exports of construction services declined 1.3% (+2.6% y/y) while government goods & services exports declined 0.9% (-23.0% y/y). The increase in services imports was due to construction services imports which rose 1.0% (35.1% y/y) but travel services imports fell 2.6% (+21.7% y/y). Imports of transport services declined 5.8% (-0.1% y/y) while charges for the use of intellectual property eased 0.1% (+3.2 y/y) in March.

The U.S. goods trade deficit with China widened to a seasonally adjusted $24.1 billion in March from $21.9 billion in February. Exports fell 3.6% (-10.3% y/y) while imports rose 4.8% (unchanged y/y). The goods trade deficit with the European Union deepened to $19.5 billion from $17.6 billion in February as exports fell 3.4% (-6.4% y/y), off for the third straight month, and imports rose 1.8% (4.2% y/y). The trade deficit with Japan narrowed to a seasonally adjusted $5.3 billion in March after narrowing to $6.2 billion in the previous month. Exports declined 1.9% (+3.0% y/y) while imports fell 8.7% (-2.2% y/y).

The international trade data, including relevant data on oil prices, can be found in Haver's **USECON** database. Detailed figures on international trade are available in the **USINT** database. The expectations figures are from the Action Economics Forecast Survey in **AS1REPNA**.

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- Exports and imports both fall.
- Adjusted for inflation, goods trade deficit increases to eleven-month high.
- Goods trade deficits with China & Europe deepen.

U.S. Trade Deficit Deepens in March

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The Commerce Department reported that inventories in the factory sector remained unchanged (0.6% y/y) during March after a 0.2% February rise. Transportation equipment inventories held steady (6.9% y/y). Furniture inventories increased 0.3% (-4.4% y/y) while electrical equipment inventories dropped 0.4% (-0.5% y/y). Amongst nondurable goods industries, petroleum inventories were 0.5% higher (2.6% y/y) and plastics & rubber inventories rose 0.2% (-4.8% y/y). These changes were accompanied by a 0.5% rise (-1.7% y/y) in apparel. Basic chemical inventories were unchanged (-0.6% y/y) for a second consecutive month while paper product inventories gained 0.2% (-2.6% y/y).

Orders to all manufacturers improved 1.6% (1.7% y/y) in March following a 1.2% February rise. The gain was led by a 2.6% rise (1.2% y/y) in durable goods orders, as commercial aircraft surged 30.6% (-50.9% y/y) in. New orders excluding transportation gained 0.5% (1.6% y/y). Orders for nondurable goods (which equal shipments) rose 0.6% (2.1% y/y). The rise reflected a 1.5% increase (4.9% y/y) in shipments from oil refineries and a 0.7% gain (2.1% y/y) in basic chemicals. Orders for textile products declined 1.4% (-1.7% y/y) and apparel orders fell 1.4% (-1.7% y/y). Orders for food products rose 0.2% (-0.3% y/y). Apparel shipments eased 0.2% (-1.9% y/y) while chemical shipments gained 0.7% (2.1% y/y). Paper product shipments held steady (-2.0% y/y).

Unfilled orders improved 0.4% in March (9.1% y/y) and, excluding the transportation sector, they eased 0.1% (-0.9% y/y). Backlogs of electrical equipment slipped 0.1% (+0.7% y/y). Unfilled orders in the machinery sector eased 0.3% (-3.9% y/y) and unfilled orders for transportation equipment rose 0.7% (15.5% y/y). Unfilled orders of furniture rose 0.6% (-5.6% y/) and fabricated metals backlogs were off 0.1%, unchanged y/y.

The factory sector figures are available in Haver's **USECON** database.

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- Inventories levels are flat.
- Order improvement led by aircraft.
- Unfilled orders rise.

U.S. Factory Inventories Hold Steady While Orders Rise in March

Kathleen Stephansen, CBE

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Nonfarm business sector productivity increased 0.3% (SAAR) during Q1’24, following upwardly revised gains of 3.5% in Q4’23 and 4.6% in Q3’23. The rises in productivity were originally reported as being 3.4% in Q4 and 4.4% in Q3. Expectations had been for a 0.8% rise in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. On a year-on-year comparison, Q1 productivity rose 2.9%, up from 2.7% in Q4 and 2.4% in Q3. The y/y gain was the quickest since 2020. Real value-added output rose 1.3% (SAAR) (3.2% y/y) in Q1 from a 3.8% (3.3% y/y) gain in Q4.

Hours-worked in the nonfarm business sector rose 1.0% (0.3% y/y) in Q1 from a 0.2% (0.6% y/y) rise in Q4. Nonfarm hourly compensation increased 5.0% (4.7% y/y) in Q1 from a 3.5% gain (5.2% y/y) in Q4. Adjusted for price inflation, real compensation per hour rose 1.1% (1.5% y/y) in Q1, following a 0.8% (1.9% y/y) rise in Q4.

Weaker productivity brought an acceleration in unit labor costs to 4.7% (1.8% y/y) in Q1 after a 0.0% (2.4%) rise in Q4. The Action Economics Forecast Survey called for a 2.3% quarterly rise in unit labor costs.

In the manufacturing sector, real output per hour slowed to a rise of 0.2% (1.2% y/y) last quarter after a gain of 2.4% (0.9% y/y) in Q4. Manufacturing output was unchanged over the quarter (-0.1% y/y) after declining 1.0% (-0.2% y/y) in Q4. Hours-worked declined 0.2% (-1.3% y/y) in Q1 after a drop of 3.3% (-1.1% y/y) in Q4.

Compensation per hour in manufacturing slowed to a gain of 3.4% (6.3% y/y) last quarter following a rise of 6.8% (6.7% y/y) in Q4. Real compensation declined 0.4% (3.0% y/y) in Q1, after a rise of 4.0% (3.4% y/y) in Q4. Unit labor costs in manufacturing slowed to a rise of 3.2% (5.0% y/y) in Q1 following a gain of 4.2% (5.8% y/y) the prior quarter.

The productivity and labor cost data are available in Haver’s **USECON** database. The Action Economics expectations figures are in the **AS1REPNA** database.

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- Productivity slows in Q1.
- Unit labor costs rise sharply.
- Slowdown in factory productivity and unit labor cost growth.

U.S. Productivity Growth Slows and Unit Labor Cost Growth Accelerates in Q1

Carol Stone, CBE

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Initial claims for unemployment insurance were steady last week, ended April 27, at 208,000 seasonally adjusted; the April 20 week’s number was revised marginally from 207,000.  The latest week was close to the Action Economics Forecast Survey estimate of 210,000. The four-week moving average of initial claims was 210,000 in the April 27 week, down from 213,500 the week before. The latest week’s data extends the tight range of initial claims, which has hovered from 194,000 to 228,000 since September 3, 2023.

The number of continued claims for unemployment insurance, also called “insured unemployment,” was 1.774 million in the April 20 week, unchanged from the prior week; that earlier amount was revised from 1.781 million reported last week. As with initial claims, the number of continuing claims has maintained a tight range for several months, running from 1.728 million to 1.829 million since June 3, 2023.

The insured unemployment rate, that is, the number of unemployment benefits recipients as a percent of covered employment, was again 1.2% in the April 20 week. This rate has been steady at 1.2% since March 11, 2023.

Insured unemployment rates vary widely among individual states. In the April 13 week, the highest rates were in New Jersey (2.50%), California (2.31%), Rhode Island (1.91%), Minnesota and Illinois (both 1.85%), and Massachusetts (1.84%). The lowest rates were in Kansas (0.33%), Florida (0.37%), South Dakota (0.39%), North Carolina and Virginia (both 0.41%) and Alabama (0.42%). Rates in other prominent states include Arizona (0.74%), Texas (1.07%), Pennsylvania and Connecticut (both 1.54%) and New York (1.74%).  These state data are not seasonally adjusted.

Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor, not the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They begin in 1967 and are contained in Haver’s **WEEKLY** database and summarized monthly in **USECON**. Data for individual states are in **REGIONW** back to December 1986. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey in the **AS1REPNA** database.

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- Initial claims flat at 208,000 in April 27 week.
- Continued claims also unchanged in April 20 week.
- Insured unemployment rate maintains 1.2% level since March 2023.
