Investors are ramping up wagers that the Biden administration's focus on economic stimulus and electric vehicles will turbocharge a monthslong climb in copper and other industrial metals. Even though they slid alongside other commodities Friday, most actively traded copper futures are still up more than 2% so far in 2021 and near their highest level since early in 2013. They have been lifted by buoyant demand from China and wagers that an improving global economy will...
Consumer confidence in the U.S. fell slightly in early January, data from the University of Michigan survey of consumers showed Friday. The preliminary estimate of the index of consumer sentiment was 79.2 in January, down from 80.7 in December. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected the indicator to come in at a similar 79.4.
U.S. industrial production increased solidly in December, providing a source of strength for the U.S. economy as consumer spending and employment gains slow. Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility output, increased a seasonally adjusted 1.6% in December, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 0.5% rise.
The producer-price index, a measure of the prices businesses receive for their goods and services, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% on the month. Excluding the often-volatile food and energy categories, producer prices were up a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in December. Nearly half of the December increase was attributable to gasoline prices, which jumped 16.1%, the Labor Department said.
U.S. consumers cut back on retail spending during the December peak of the holiday season as the country confronted a surge in coronavirus infections. The seasonally adjusted 0.7% month-over-month drop marked the third straight decline in the Commerce Department's measure of spending at stores, vehicle dealerships, restaurants and online, after a stretch of growth last spring and summer. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast that retail sales...
Manufacturing activity in New York state expanded in January at a softer pace than that of the previous month, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed Friday. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey's general business conditions index decreased to 3.5 in January from 4.9 in December. The reading misses expectations from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, who had expected the indicator to increase to 6.0.
India's trade deficit in December widened compared with the same month the previous year, government data showed Friday. The trade deficit for December stood at $15.44 billion compared with a $12.49 billion deficit in December 2019.. The widening of the trade deficit was driven by a larger increase in imports than in exports.
SÃO PAULO--Brazil retail sales fell slightly in November as shoppers spent less at supermarkets and hypermarkets and cut back on purchases of new furniture and home appliances. Sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in the month, the first decline in seven months, and rose 3.4% from a year earlier, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE said Thursday. In October, sales climbed a revised 0.8% in the month and rose a revised 8.4% from a year earlier.
The U.K. economy shrank in November, highlighting the economic cost of restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The British economy shrank 2.6% in November, the Office for National Statistics said Friday, following six consecutive months of growth since lockdowns in the spring. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 4.0% drop.
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