The Day at a Glance | February 14 2023

*Inflation in the US surprised to the upside in January, although it maintained its decreasing trend.

*The INEGI made its Monthly Manufacturing Survey (EMIM for its initials in Spanish) for December public.

*Preliminary GDP figures in the Eurozone set in line with leading estimates for the 4Q22 period: 0.1% quarterly, 1.9% annual.

*The Eurozone´s labor market remained strong as it logged a 0.4% quarterly rise in the 4Q22 – double the estimate expected by Reuters´ survey. At an annual rate, the figure recorded a 1.5% figure. 

Economic environment

Inflation in the US slowed down more moderately as it set at 6.4% annual. This reading compared positively with the previously recorded 6.5%, although it set above the 6.2% estimated by analysts. At a monthly rate, general inflation increased 0.5%, setting in line with market expectations and was mostly attributed to services prices – in both the monthly and annual readings. For its part, the underlying component logged a 5.6% annual increase (5.7% prev.), which set above the expected 5.5%, due to a 0.4% (+0.1pp) monthly increase. Overall, the larger part of the slowdown came from raw material prices – energy prices, especially. However, the moderation logged in energy prices (0.4% m/m), along with the increase in food prices – such as eggs, which increased 8.5% at a monthly rate – limited the decrease in inflation during January. 

Figures in the manufacturing industry logged slower momentum, although growth continued at the end of 2022. During December, employed personnel increased 0.1% monthly and 1.6% annually. These figures were accompanied by a 1.2% increase in real wages at a monthly pace. Similarly, a 2.0% increase was logged in average wages, which is attributed to a 3.9% increase in laborer wages, which compared negatively to a -1.1% decrease in employee salaries. Additionally, utilized capacity in the manufacturing industries reached 83.7%, 2.4pp above what was logged in December of 2021. The chemical industry has the highest idle capacity level as its figure set at 60.7% – followed by the manufacture of clothing, and oil and coal derivative products, while machinery and equipment, communication, and electronic accessories recorded a 94.9% figure.