The Day at a Glance | November 22 2023

*Retail sales in Mexico unexpectedly decreased during September. 

*In the US, the 30-year mortgage rate eased to a two-month low and set at 7.41%. 

*China warned newly elected Argentine president, Javier Milei, that breaking relations would be a serious mistake. 

*New unemployment claims in the US tempered to 209,000 in the week ending November 18th.

Economic environment

In September, retail sales recorded a 2.3% y/y rate of growth. This reading set below the consensus forecast of 3.7% y/y and the previous 3.2%. On a monthly basis – and for the third consecutive month – a contraction was recorded, although it was smaller than the one recorded in August (-0.2% vs. -0.4% m/m prev.). Lastly, it´s worth pointing out that there was marked disparity among the components, as there was a 15.7% annual increase in online sales, followed by double-digit growth in self-service store sales (11.4% y/y), while the sales of stationery items fell by -11.5% y/y, and motor vehicles did the same in -4.9%.