The Day at a Glance | February 15 2023

The Top

*Retail sales in the US logged a 3.0% monthly increase in January, the largest increase in almost two years.

*Industrial production in the Eurozone receded more than expected in December.

*The Eurozone`s trade balance logged a 18.1 billion euro deficit in December.

*Inflation in the UK decreased to 10.1%, which compares positively to the consensus estimate of 10.3% (10.5% prev.).

Economic environment

Retail sales in the US kicked off 2022 strongly. January`s figures recorded a 3.0% increase, the largest figure since March of 2021. All thirteen retail categories logged an increase in January. However, beyond these figures, January`s data shows a strong rebound after a setback was logged in December, which indicates demand is strong; this could play a role in the Federal Reserve`s decisions in its following meetings.

Industrial production in the Eurozone receded -1.7% at the end of 2022. This reading compares negatively with the 0.7% expected by the consensus, and below the previous reading of 2.0% in November. At a monthly rate, the -1.1% decrease (vs -0.8%e.) contrasted with the previous 1.4% increase. This is attributed to the overall drop in all components that make up the index: The production of intermediate goods decreased -2.8%, followed by a -1.4% drop in the production of durable goods; non-durable consumer goods fell -1.0% and capital goods logged a 0.4% figure. However, energy production was the exception as it logged a 1.3% increase. By country, the -2.1% monthly setback in Germany was partially offset by progress logged in France (1.1%), Italy (1.1%), and Spain (0.7%).