U.S. - After Strong Initial Rebound, Momentum is Slowing
- The economic recovery continued into July, though the pace is slowing. The consumer has been a bright spot in the recovery so far, but with jobless benefits in flux and no clear path for the long-awaited stimulus bill, the support here could fade.
- Consumer prices picked up in July, but weak demand will likely keep a lid on inflation in coming months.
- While retail sales are back above their pre-virus peak, consumer caution was evident in the July data.
- Initial claims for unemployment came in below 1 million last week for the first time in 20 weeks. This is a marked improvement, but unemployment remains strikingly high.
Global - Global Recovery Persists, Pace Moderates
- After a challenging start to 2020 economies around the world are turning the corner, albeit it at varying speeds.
- Euro zone June industrial output showed a large monthly increase, similar to a large gain in retail sales, but Q2 employment fell sharply. In China, July industrial output growth was steady while the fall in retail sales lessened.
- Some economic regions are lagging. U.K. Q2 GDP fell more than 20% quarter-over-quarter, although activity started to improve by the end of Q2. Similarly, the rebound in activity in Mexico and Brazil remains relatively gradual so far.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 28 August 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 26, 2020
After a revised look at GDP this week suggested the second quarter may not have been quite as bad as first estimated, attention shifts to the current quarter.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 09 October 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 12, 2020
Weekly first time unemployment claims highlighted an extraordinarily slow week for economic news. Jobless claims fell slightly but continuing claims fell by one million.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 14 february 2025
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Mar 19, 2025
Consumers received a little relief on the inflation front in February. After a hotter-than-expected 0.5% gain in January, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% last month.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 02 October 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 29, 2020
In what was a jam-packed week of economic data, the jobs report, prospects of additional fiscal stimulus and the president’s positive COVID-19 test result commanded markets’ attention.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 03 March 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Mar 07, 2023
Looking at Q4 GDP, Australia\'s economy grew by less than expected, GDP was flat for the quarter in both Canada and Switzerland, and Sweden\'s economy contracted in the final quarter of last year.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 06 March 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Mar 07, 2020
An inter-meeting rate cut by the FOMC did little to stem financial market volatility, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continued to climb.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 23 September 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 22, 2020
European activity is surging. Germany and Italy are leading the way, but France is close behind despite an ongoing rise in cases. The Google data are a bit outdated, but are hard to reconcile with today’s weak Eurozone services PMI figures.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 24 February 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 28, 2023
Existing home sales declined 0.7% in January, while new home sales leaped 7.2%. Real personal spending shot higher in January, and solid growth in discretionary spending suggests continued consumer resilience.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 31 May 2024
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jun 04, 2024
Markets digested a light lineup of economic data on the holiday-shortened week. The second look at first quarter GDP revealed an economy increasingly pressured by high interest rates as headline growth was revised lower.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 24 January 2025
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jan 28, 2025
Initial jobless claims increased to a six-week high, rising to a seasonally adjusted level of 223K for the week ended January 18. The Southern California wildfires played a major role in the rise, increasing by 61K on a non-seasonally-adjusted basis.
