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European Economics Preview: French Consumer, Business Sentiment Data Due



Consumer and business sentiment survey results from France are due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Statistics Norway is set to issue unemployment and retail sales data. The jobless rate is forecast to rise to 4 percent in March from 3.5 percent in the preceding period.

At 2.45 am ET, France's Insee publishes consumer and business confidence survey results. The consumer sentiment index is forecast to fall to 92 in May from 95 in April. The business confidence index is seen at 85 versus 82 a month ago.

At 3.00 am ET, unemployment data from Hungary is due.

At 3.30 am ET, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is set to speak at the European Youth Event 2020. In the meantime, Statistics Sweden publishes producer prices for April. Prices had fallen 3.6 percent annually in March.

At 4.00 am ET, unemployment data from Norway and manufacturing Purchasing Managers' survey from Austria are due.

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Korea Rate Decision On Tap For Thursday



The Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Thursday and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The central bank is projected to trim its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, from 0.75 percent to 0.50 percent.

Australia will see Q1 numbers for capital expenditure and May figures for the business confidence index from ANZ. Capex is expected to sink 2.6 percent on quarter after falling 2.8 percent in the previous three months. The business confidence index had a score of -66.6 in April.

Taiwan will see May figures for its consumer confidence index; in April, the index score was 73.39.

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Japan Retail Sales Slide 9.6% On Month In April



The total value of retail sales in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 9.6 percent on month in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.
That was shy of expectations for a decline of 7.0 percent following the 4.5 percent drop in March.

On a yearly basis, retail sales tumbled 13.7 percent - also missing expectations for a drop of 11.5 percent after slipping 4.6 percent in the previous month.

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Philippines Manufacturing PMI Rises To 40.1 In May - IHS Markit



The manufacturing sector in the Philippines continued to contract in May, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from IHS Markit revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 40.1.

That's up from the record low 31.6 in April, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, the rates of decline in output and new orders eased but remained sharp.

Employment levels fell steeply again, while output prices ricked higher as cost pressures rose.

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Ireland Manufacturing Downturn Continues In May



Ireland's manufacturing sector contracted at a softer pace in May, as the local and global economies remained in lockdown amid coronavirus outbreak, survey data from IHS Markit showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted AIB factory Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 39.2 in May from 36.0 in April. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

New orders remained weak in the midst of lockdown measures. Employment increased in May, but it signaled the second fastest rate of job shedding in nearly eleven years. Suppliers' delivery time lengthened in May.

Stocks of purchase signaled the slowest rate of input destocking in seven months. New export orders declined further at the second-fastest pace on record.

As many firms remained shut down in May, backlogs of work declined at the fastest rate since September 2011. Purchasing activity declined due to suspended output and fall in demand due to coronavirus pandemic.

On the price front, the survey showed that input prices fell for the third straight month in May and manufacturers reduced their charges for the third month and at the strongest rate since July 2019.

Manufacturers reported overall optimism regarding future output in May, following a record degree of pessimism in April.

"The AIB Irish Manufacturing PMI data for May paint a downbeat picture of the sector for the third month in a row as the lockdowns associated with the coronavirus pandemic continue to depress activity," Oliver Mangan, AIB chief economist said.

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Australia Building Approvals Dip 1.8% In April



The total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent on month in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - coming in at 15,294.

That beat expectations for a plunge of 15.0 percent following the 4.0 percent drop in March.

On a yearly basis, building permits were up 5.7 percent.

Permits issued for private sector houses rose 2.7 percent on month and 4.9 percent on year to 8,912, while permits issued for private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 8.9 on month but rose 4.0 percent on year to 6,079.

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Australia April Trade Surplus A$8.800 Billion



Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$8.800 billion in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - down 16 percent on month.

That exceeded expectations for a surplus of A$7.5 billion following the downwardly revised A$10.44 billion surplus in March (originally A$10.60 billion).

Exports were down 11.0 percent on month to A$37.505 billion following the downwardly revised 13.9 percent increase in the previous month.

Non-rural goods fell A$2.192 billion (8 percent) and non-monetary gold fell A$1.694 billion (47 percent). Rural goods rose A$39 million (1 percent) and net exports of goods under merchanting rose A$15 million (79 percent). Services credits fell A$924 million (13 percent).

Imports sank 10.0 percent on month to A$28.705 billion after losing a revised 3.6 percent a month earlier (originally -4.0 percent).

Intermediate and other merchandise goods fell A$507 million (5 percent) and non-monetary gold fell A$402 million (40 percent). Consumption goods rose A$329 million (4 percent) and capital goods rose A$243 million (4 percent). Services debits fell A$2.773 billion (42 percent).

Also on Thursday, the ABS said that the total value of retail sales in Australia tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 17.7 percent on month in April, coming in at A$24.791 billion.

That was slightly better than expectations for a decline of 17.9 percent following the 8.5 percent increase in March.

The decline was led by drops in food retailing (-17.4 percent), cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-35.4 percent), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-53.6 percent), other retailing (-14.4 percent), department stores (-14.9 percent), and household goods retailing (-0.1 percent).

By region, sales were down in Victoria (-21.1 percent), New South Wales (-17.5 percent), Queensland (-15.7 percent), Western Australia (-16.8 percent), South Australia (-14.6 percent), Tasmania (-17.5 percent), the Australian Capital Territory (-14.9 percent), and the Northern Territory (-7.7 percent).

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Japan Household Spending Sinks 11.1% On Year In April



The average of household spending in Japan was down 11.1 percent on year in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - coming in at 267, 922 yen.

That beat expectations for a drop of 15.4 percent on year following the6.0 percent fall in March.

The average of monthly income per household stood at 531,017 yen, up 0.9 percent on year.

On a monthly basis, household spending fell 6.2 percent - also beating expectations for a fall of 8.7 percent after slipping 4.0 percent a month earlier.

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Ireland Construction Sector Continues To Contract In May



Ireland's construction sector contracted for the third straight month in May, though at a softer pace, amid covid-19 restrictions, data from the IHS Markit showed on Monday.

The Ulster Bank construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 19.9 in May from 4.5 in April.

This rate of contraction was still sharper than at any other time in 20 years of data collection. Any score below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

"Mirroring the pattern of the headline PMI, the sectoral sub-indices also point to a slower pace of contraction (particularly so in the case of commercial and housing), consistent with April having been the point of peak stress for Irish construction activity during the current crisis," Simon Barry, chief economist Republic of Ireland at Ulster Bank, said.

All three categories of activity decreased in May, though the rate of contraction eased in each case. Civil engineering activity declined sharply, while commercial activity fell softly.

New orders declined for the third straight month in May due to covid-19 crisis. Employment and purchasing activity fell for the third month in a row.

Suppliers' delivery time lengthened further in May.

Input prices rose slightly in May, but the rate of inflation was below the series average.

The 12-month outlook for the construction firms remained pessimistic in May.

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Australia NAB Business Conditions Rise In May



Australia's business conditions and confidence improved in May but remained deeply negative, survey data from National Australia Bank showed Tuesday.

The business conditions index gained 10 points to -24 in May after hitting the lowest level since the global financial crisis.

While improvement in conditions was broad-based across industries, conditions in services industries remained notably weaker.

The increase in conditions was driven by an improvement in trading conditions and profitability, while the employment index logged a more moderate improvement.

At the same time, the business confidence index advanced to -20 in May from -45 in April.

Business confidence increased from its low point in March, but remained weak with a current reading last seen around the trough in the 1990s recession.

With coronavirus containment measures having generally been eased, although to varying degrees across the states, there have seen some pickup in activity, the NAB said. However, uncertainty remains high both globally and domestically and businesses likely remain concerned about how quickly they will return to full capacity.

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