The Day at a Glance | June 6 2023

*Hundreds of people evacuated in the Dnipro region of Ukraine after the destruction of the Nova Kakhoka dam, nearby streets and villages flooded. 

*The World Bank increased its global growth forecasts for 2023 and decreased its forecasts for 2024. 

*Retail sales in the Eurozone logged a null monthly variation in April; on an annual basis, the reading indicated a -2.6% setback. 

*In Mexico, 1,560,928 light vehicles were manufactured and 1,273,915 were exported in the January-May period. 

*Today, China´s trade balance data will be revealed; declines are expected both in exports (-2.1% y/y) and imports (-8.0%). 

*Oil prices dropped by more than a dollar per barrel on Tuesday, following a strong increase in the previous session; concerns over global growth overshadow Saudi Arabia´s production cut. 

Economic environment

Retail sales in the Eurozone remained unchanged in April. On Tuesday, Eurostat released April´s retail sales, which surprised to the downside by setting at 0.0% m/m compared to the consensus estimate of 0.2%. This stagnation was mainly due to consumers spending less on food and gasoline, but increasing consumption of other products. On an annual basis, retail sales logged a -2.6% decline compared to April of the previous year and showed a lighter than expected drop (-3.0%e.), after falling -3.8% in April. Consumption in the Eurozone has remained weak throughout the year due to a decline in real wages, households spending a significant portion of their income on higher energy costs and credit, thereby eroding demand for other goods. Additionally, saving has increased as a precautionary measure against high interest rates, while there is also low economic growth.