Economy Watch

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the US faces a federal government shutdown as markets start to realise Trump has no problem being reckless and has no problem hurting his 'friends'..But first, there was another Pulse dairy auction overnight. And that brought marginally weaker prices for both SMP and WMP, down a bit less than -0.5% in USD terms. In fact these prices are now at their lowest level of 2025. But because the NZD is falling, the prices achieved actually rose about the same amount in local currency.In the US, the number of job openings in August were virtually unchanged from July at 7.2 mln as was expected.But the Chicago PMI fell again in September, well below market expectations that it would improve. And the dip was sharp, the most in three months.Also weaker was the Dallas Fed services sector with their retail sector retreating rather fast in an unusual move lower.Adding to the downbeat sentiment was the September report from the Conference Board showing consumers are glummer than at any time since the start of the year. A common theme in the survey responses is the impact of rising inflation.And the downbeat sentiment may well get worse, and quickly. The White House seems to relish a full government shutdown to start their fiscal year tomorrow with mass firings rather than furloughs. And Trump says some American cities he considers dangerous should become training grounds for American troops, proposing 'his' troops be used to fight other Americans in their home cities. It is getting toxic very fast there.For their economy, there is a real possibility now that this weekend's non-farm payrolls release will be cancelled because the department releasing it will be closed. If that turns out to be the case, it could mask some quite weak results. Analysts now expect less than a +50,000 gain.Financial markets are downplaying the risks of all this, mainly because there have been many 'shutdown' crises over the decades. But at least the earlier ones involved parties prepared to reach a deal. Maybe not this time.Across the Pacific in China, their official factory PMI contracted again. But even though it is the sixth straight monthly contraction, the pace of decline was the least in that time. (Their factory PMI rose in February and March, but only by marginal levels.) Their official services PMI for September is no longer expanding. These official PMIs have been more conservative than the private surveys (RatingDog, ex Caixin) probably because they have a heavier weighting to Chinese SOEs. The private ones are more attuned to private and foreign enterprises, surveyed by S&P Global, and they report a faster expanding factory sector, and solidly expanding services sector.Meanwhile, China has frozen imports of BHP iron ore in a pricing dispute. BHP is their third largest supplier after Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale.Taiwanese consumer sentiment rose in September, but to be fair the bar is low because it has been stunted since May.In Europe, Germany said their CPI inflation edged up to 2.4% in September, marginally above the August level. But ist was a rise that was slightly more than expected.In Australia, there were no surprises from their central bank which held its cash rate target at 3.6%. But even though this hold was all priced in, there was some surprising reaction in financial markets. Somehow the decision was regarded as 'hawkish' and the AUD rose and benchmark bond interest rates fell on the news. The strong currency remained although the bond move was later reversed. Air cargo volumes in August grew +4.1% globally, driven by a near +10% rise from a year ago in the Asia/Pacific region. But notably, North American air cargo volumes fell -2.1% on the same basis in August, the weakest global region. And the pattern was similar for passenger travel. Asia/Pacific and Latin America brought strong growth, underpinning a +4.6% expansion, but North America lagged here too, only up +0.5% from a year ago.The UST 10yr yield is still at 4.14%, unchanged from yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$3846/oz, up +US$16 from yesterday and a new all-time high. Silver is -50 USc softer however.American oil prices are down another -50 USc at just over US$62.50/bbl, with the international Brent price now just under US$66.50/bbl and down more than -US$1.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58 USc and up +20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie however we are down -30 bps at 87.6 AUc and a new three year low. Against the euro we are little-changed at 49.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 65.1, and unchanged.The bitcoin price starts today at US$112,876 and down -0.8% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/- 0.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news gold is soaring on US missteps, and oil is falling as demand falters while supply is rising fast.Overnight US data was mixed. August pending home sales came in a little better than expected, up +4.0% from July, but only up +3.8% from year ago levels which themselves were relatively stunted. Less than 20% of American realtors expect the next three months to improve.But the Dallas Fed factory survey reported a sharpish turn lower, a second consecutive monthly contraction in manufacturing activity and the steepest since June. But they still have growth, just far less. New orders dipped again. Costs continue to rise faster than selling prices.The chances of a US federal government shutdown are rising with compromise no longer in anyone's vocabulary. Trump thinks no-one will blame him for his intransigence.And apparently, the next US tariff target is movie production - something both Australian and New Zealand creative industries will look at with trepidation.Singapore reported their producer prices rose. They grew by +1.1% in August from a year ago, after a -2.4% drop in the previous month. And this was their first producer price inflation since March 2025.Later today, China will release its August PMI data, the key releases before their Golden Week holiday break that starts tomorrow.In India, industrial production rose +4.0% in August from a year ago, slowing slightly from the upwardly revised 4.3% growth rate in July, but less than the expected +5% increase. Still, the result continued a reasonable first half of the year, showing that initial tariffs by the Americans did not have a significant immediate impact on their industrial activity.But today's big news will be the RBA's upcoming rate review. Analysts expect no change at 3.6%. Financial markets are of the same view with nothing priced in to secondary market wholesale rates. But the RBA will be weighing the impact of relatively strong labour markets, good economic growth, low budget deficits and a strong fiscal impulse, along with rising CPI inflation touching 3.0% in August. Waiting could leave them with a harder-to-control inflation problem, although to be fair, no-one expects a rise today even if many think it would be warranted and wise.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.14%, down -5 bps from yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$3830/oz, up +US$72 from yesterday and a new all-time high. Silver had yet another big spurt, now almost at US$47/oz. This latest surge puts the US gold stockpile at Fort Knox and the NY Fed now worth more than US$1 tln.American oil prices are down a sharpish -US$2 at just over US$63/bbl, with the international Brent price now just over US$67.50/bbl. With global demand wavering, the planned OPEC increase, plus the resumption of Iraqi oil from their Kurdistan region has traders talking about a glut.The Kiwi dollar is at just over 57.8 USc and up +10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie however we are down -25 bps at 87.9 AUc and that is the lowest in three years. Against the euro we are little-changed at 49.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 65.1, down -10 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$113,795 and up +3.2% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at under +/- 1.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news even the giant American economy can't seem to maintain its momentum, with Trump grabbing at all the levers of government. He is even taking government domain names and inserting is personal interests. It will become increasingly hard to separate real American economic data from that skewed by his army of MAGA blackshirts who have been inserted into these agencies.The week ahead will be busy, with major economic releases that will culminate with the US September non-farm payrolls report and related labour market data. Ordinarily they impact the policy path for the Fed this year. Markets currently expect jobs growth of less than +50,000 and settling in to a low trajectory. Before that we will get the ADP private employment report (expect even less), results from the JOLTS report, and Challenger job cuts (a big jump is expected by analysts).Besides labour updates, investors will also be on alert for the risk of a US government shutdown at the start of the new fiscal year on October 1The September update of the ISM PMI is due (analysts think it will be more contractionary than in August), and we will also get PMI releases from China, Canada, Brazil, South Korea, and ASEAN countries.Regionally, the RBA will be reviewing its monetary policy settings on Tuesday, and now no rate cut is expected due to rising inflation pressures, so markets expect it to stay at 3.6%. India will also be reviewing its monetary policy position late Wednesday, and no change is expected there either, keeping their rate at 5.5%.Daylight savings time has started in New Zealand of course, but not yet in Australia. So we will be 3 hours ahead of eastern Australia. But Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia do not observe daylight saving time, making it a patchwork system across their country.Over the weekend, China released August industrial profits data. After struggling all year to July to show any improvement on the equivalent month a year ago, August industrial profits rose at a good clip, up by more than +20% on the prior August's lame result. There was faster growth in the private sector while state-owned enterprises recorded a much smaller decline.And we should note that China is about to go on its 2025 national Golden Week holiday which will run from Wednesday, October 1st to Wednesday, October 8th, an extended eight-day holiday that combines National Day with the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is a major time for domestic and international travel, resulting in busy transportation and tourist activity. Businesses largely suspend their operations in this time but key government departments do operate.Over the weekend, Singapore released industrial production data delivering a large negative surprise. This activity was down a massive -7.8% in August from a year ago. The month-on-month data was sharply negative too. It was largely driven by very big drops in the electronics and biomedical sectors and caught analysts very much by surprise.And over the weekend in the world's largest economy, they released personal income and spending data for August which came in pretty much as anticipated. Personal disposable income rose +0.4% in the month and personal consumption expenditure rose +0.6% on the same basis - all from the prior month. But if you think about it, these are actually fast annualised rises, with costs rising much faster than incomes.This same data shows incomes were up +1.9% from a year ago, consumption up 2.7% on that year-ago basis. And as we noted, recent changes are rising faster than these annual shifts. The Fed will have noticed, as PCE inflation is now running well over 3% and its fastest since February. Goods inflation is 4.2% with durable goods up +5.2% in a year in this data. Clearly the tariff-tax effect is not transitory.The updated September University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for the US was revised slightly lower to be -21% lower than a year ago. Consumers surveyed continue to express frustration over persistently high prices, with 44% spontaneously mentioning to surveyors that high prices are eroding their personal finances. And they say they expect inflation to be +4.7% higher in a year's time - interestingly similar to the current goods inflation data.Markets are going to have to accept that inflation is being structurally embedded at above target levels and that the prospect of more rate cuts is receding if the Fed is to have any credibility with an inflation-fighting mandate. Financial markets have priced in one -25 bps rate cut this year, two by the end of January 2026. Politics may deliver them but it will be at the expense of inflation - which is clearly rising again and quite fast.And the US has also arbitrarily decided to impose new tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, adding to the costs their consumers will have to pay, either via import duties or from new facilities to be built locally. If it goes as Trump plans, the excess capacity internationally (after removing production for the US) will cause international prices to fall as US prices rise. Lose-lose for Americans, win-win for international consumers.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.19%, little-changed from Saturday to be up +5 bps from a week ago.The price of gold will start today at US$3759/oz, down -US$14 from Saturday. That is up +US$78 from a week ago. Silver had another big spurt over the weekend, now up over US$46/oz, a weekly gain of +US$3.American oil prices are down -50 USc at just over US$65/bbl, with the international Brent price now just over US$69.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 57.7 USc and down -10 bps from Saturday, and down -80 bps from a week ago. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 88.2 AUc but down -60 bps for the week. Against the euro we are down -10 bps at 49.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 65.2, similar to Saturday at this time.The bitcoin price starts today at US$110,271 and up +0.6% from Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been very low at under +/- 0.5%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that currency markets, bond markets and equity markets all react to unexpectedly 'strong' US data releases overnight, much of it sceptical. In fact we are getting rising risk aversion questioning its believability.US initial jobless claims came in last week at just over 180,000, and less than expected, and less than seasonal factors would have indicated. There are now 1.728 mln people on these benefits, but still +100,000 more than at the same time last year.And new orders for manufactured durable goods rose marginally in August from July, following two consecutive monthly decreases. That puts them a good +5.4% higher than year-ago levels. But non-defence, non-aircraft capital goods orders were low in the month, up just +1.6% from a year ago and it seems clear boardrooms are not enthusiastic investors at this point.This data is far more positive than the regional Fed factory survey are picking up, so we will need to wait before we conclude reshoring is actually happening.The September factory survey from the Kansas City Fed described only very modest changes in factories in their region. Order backlogs reduced as did new orders for export.In fact, US exports fell -1.4% in August in updated trade data, while imports fell -5.6%. That narrowed their trade deficit but only to the level it was in June, and not materially different to August a year ago. So it is hard to see much 'progress' here in shrinking this.But, the final US GDP result for the June quarter came in with a huge revision higher, up +3.8% from a year ago. This was apparently driven by a decrease in imports, and an increase in consumer spending, offset by decreases in investment and exports. There was a one-off revision to the consumer spending data in this release which twisted things somewhat. Again, this data is hard to reconcile with the real-time high-frequency data that we saw in the second quarter, but this is what they are reporting.If the Fed accepts this GDP data, rate cuts there are likely pushed further away.Meanwhile, August data on existing home sales dipped in August.In Canada, they reported average weekly earnings for July and they were up +3.3% to C$1,308 from a year ago, following a +3.6% increase in June.And staying in Canada, their federal government has instructed Canada Post to end door-to-door postal delivery.In China, the yuan has appreciated to the highest level in nearly 10 months against the American dollar as concerns over frictions between the world's two largest economies subside and China's economic growth prospects remain steady.In Taiwan, after four consecutive months of decreases, their reported retail sales that rose in August from a year ago. This data is modest compared to their booming industrial sector as we noted yesterday.And perhaps we should note that the Swiss central bank left its policy rate unchanged at 0% in an overnight review. Switzerland has inflation running at just +0.2% pa.Container freight rates fell faster last week, down -8% for the week to be a massive -55% lower than year-ago levels. And it was again outbound rates from China that is driving this retreat. But bulk freight rates actually rose again last week by +2.9% to be +10.5% higher than year-ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.17%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3739/oz, up just +US$6 from yesterday. Silver is on the mover however, up approaching US$45/oz.American oil prices are little-changed at just under US$65/bbl, with the international Brent price still just over US$69/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 57.6 USc and down another -50 bps from yesterday and that is its lowest level since mid-April. Against the Aussie we are down just -10 bps at 88.2 AUc and near a three-year low. Against the euro we are actually unchanged at 49.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 65.2, and down another -30 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$108,928 and down -4.3% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been moderate at just over +/- 2.3%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news we are less than a week away from another potential US federal government funding shutdown.But first up today, we can report American August data for new home sales has surprised everyone and jumped a very sharp +20% from July to an annualised rate of 800,000. Few saw this coming. Analysts say sharp discounting and widespread promotional offers are behind the twist because the unsold inventories were mounting. But the gains were widespread especially in the Northeast (+72%). Or it could just be rogue data.And that is because we had not seen any recent trend in rising mortgage application levels to support such a big August jump. In fact last week's application levels were dominated by refinance activity, not new home purchase applications. The discrepancy between the two data releases is a curiosity.There was another well-supported US Treasury bond auction earlier today, this one for their 5-year Note. The median yield came in at 3.65%, little-changed from the 3.67% at the prior equivalent event.Taiwanese industrial production rose in August by +14.4% from a year ago, slowing from an upwardly revised +18.7% gain in the previous month. Taiwan seems to deliver a never-ending stream of double-digit economic advances. It has to be the world's most impressive economy at present.Hong Kong has now shifted to clean-up mode now that Super-Typhoon Ragasa has moved on. There is a lot to restore. It has made landfall in southern China now, where 2 mln people have been evacuated. Ragasa is 2025's largest storm globally and is the largest since the all-time records set by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. (Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are all the same, just named differently based on where they develop from.)Moving on, yesterday's release of the August monthly CPI indicator series in Australia shows that inflations pressures are still alive - and rising. They came in at 3.0%, the most in more than a year. But they have a 1-3% target range so it is technically within that range. The trajectory will worry the RBA all the same. And financial markets have pushed back their expectations of when the RBA will cut rates next.In Indonesia, the combination of an accident at a major copper mine that has closed it completely, and in Peru, a closure over a tough political dispute, has seen copper prices jump overnight.In Russia, that are raising their GST to 22% to pay for their war on Ukraine.In the US, attention is twisting back to lending, liquidity and credit-rating standards as two major financials collapse in a reprise of the GFC sub-prime mistakes. Both Tricolor (a Texas car loan lender) and First Brands (a car parts maker) recently had good credit ratings confirmed.And tariffs, rising joblessness, and weird public policy make the globally important US economy unusually vulnerable at present. So we should note that a US Federal Government shutdown seems on the cards as Trump seems not to care. One of these types of events could trigger something to seriously unnerve financial markets - the US not paying its bills could be it (and is unlikely to be seen as "just another Trump bankruptcy".)The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.15%, up +3 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3733/oz, down -US$48 from yesterday. Silver was lower too and now under US$44/oz.American oil prices are up +US$1.50 at just under US$65/bbl, with the international Brent price now just over US$69/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.1 USc and down -50 bps from yesterday and that is its lowest level since mid-April. Against the Aussie we are also down -50 bps at 88.3 AUc and near a three-year low. Against the euro we are down -30 bps at 49.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 65.5, and down another -30 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$113.858 and up +1.7% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just over +/- 1.1%.Today, all eyes will be on the big Fonterra announcements, which are expected to be very positive. Join us for our coverage that will start with their NZX market releases soon.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the latest data shows American business activity slowing further.But first up this morning we should note that the overnight dairy Pulse event brought little-change to either the ASMP or WMP prices. This is as expected for SMP but 'better' than expected for WMP. In NZD however there was a rise because the Kiwi dollar fell. All eyes are now on tomorrows Fonterra annual report.There were also no surprises in the S&P Global/Markit PMIs for the US for September. Both their flash factory and services PMI reading eased slightly, but are not contracting. Growth may be slowing, but selling price inflation is cooling too. The report noted weak new order growth and tariff-taxes were widely cited as the main cause of sharply higher costs, but the weaker demand and stiff competition reportedly limited the scope to raise selling prices,And that is confirmed in the Richmond Fed factory survey which turned down sharply in September. New order levels were weak, cost pressures strong. Services in the same mid-Atlantic area were not very positive either.There was another very large US Treasury 2yr Note auction today, one that saw another pull-back in overall support although the coverage remains strong. The median yield dipped to 3.52% from 3.60% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.In China, Nikkei has found that retail consumer loans are going bad faster, the latest headache for Chinese lenders already plagued by the country's real estate problems. And it comes just when the government aims to stimulate consumption through increased consumer debt backed up by more public borrowings. Nikkei Asia combed through the latest interim disclosures by mainland banks listed in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and found that nonperforming personal loans rose at a faster pace than those in the real estate sector during the first half of the year.Overnight, Taiwan reported yet another outstandingly good export orders data, again exceeding the expected very good expansion.Super Typhoon Ragasa is expected to hit Hong Kong today, and they are still expecting up to a 5m storm surge (above chart datum). But the eye of the storm is passing slightly south, so it will affect large parts of southern China.India's PMI's were again very expansionary in September for both their services and factory sectors. No signs of cooling in this market.In Europe, their PMIs continue with a modest expansion, even if it is their best in 16 months. But new order levels are only holding, not growing. And the factory sector is now not expanding.And the Swedes delivered a surprise cut to their policy rate, down -25 bps to 1.75%. They cited geopolitical tensions and uncertain US trade policy as the reasons for the move now even though they are experiencing good current growth with inflation up at 3.2% when 2% is their target.In Australia, their PMI's reveal a pullback in September but both sectors are still expanding.Globally, the OECD reported that the global economy was more resilient than anticipated in the first half of 2025, but downside risks loom large as higher barriers to trade and geopolitical and policy uncertainty continue to weigh on activity in many economies. New Zealand doesn't feature in this report, but is sees Australian growth rising, Chinese growth holding at a reasonably good level, and US growth halving to a weak level by 2026.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.12%, down -2 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3781/oz, up another +US$45 from yesterday and a new ATH. Silver was little-changed but still up over US$44/oz.American oil prices are up +US$1 at just under US$63.50/bbl, with the international Brent price now just on US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 58.6 USc and down -10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are also down -10 bps at 88.8 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at 49.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 65.7, down -20 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$111,974 and down -0.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just over +/- 1.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news Super Typhoon Ragasa aims for a direct hit on southern China.But first up, we can report that the US National Activity Index as collated by the Chicago Fed, was less negative in August, extending the negative trend to five consecutive months. But the July data was revised lower.There were Fed speakers out overnight. Miran made the lone case in favour of Trump's big slash, whereas Hammack, Barkin, Williams, Musalem, and earlier Daly, all made the case for eyeing inflation risks as well as jobs risks.In Canada, their producer prices rose faster, now up +4.0% from a year ago, largely on the impacts of the US tariff-taxes where Canadian substituted other components than American ones. But beef prices are a notable riser in this latest data.The People's Bank of China kept its key lending rates unchanged at record lows for the fourth straight month yesterday, as expected. The 1-year loan prime rate remained at 3.0%, while the 5-year benchmark stayed at 3.5%.In China, they said they will limit the steel industry's growth to 4% over the next two years to deal with their severe over-capacity problem and force companies to invest in quality rather than volume gains.And the fast growing rail land-bridge from China to Europe is closing, essentially because the Poland-Belarus border is being sealed to guard against Russian infiltration. It is hard to see Beijing being happy about that.Hong Kong authorities are bracing for “serious threats” posed by the looming Super Typhoon Ragasa, which is expected to bring hurricane-force winds with speeds of up to 220 km/h over the next few days, potentially breaking a record set during Saola in 2023. Their airport is likely to close, along with much else including their stock market. And mass evacuations have started in neighbouring Shenzhen.This is what the Hong Kong official met service warned late last night. "Under the influence of significant storm surge, there will be a rise in water level of about 2 metres over coastal areas of Hong Kong in the morning of Wednesday. The maximum water level can generally reach around 3.5 to 4 metres above chart datum, and the water level at Tolo Harbour may even reach 4 to 5 metres above chart datum. Members of the public should take appropriate precautions." A 5 metre storm surge seems pretty significant.In Europe, and despite political and tariff uncertainties, consumer sentiment 'rose' (that is, got less bad) in September, probably because both inflation and borrowing costs eased in the past month.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.14%, unchanged from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3736/oz, up +US$52 from yesterday and a new ATH. Silver had another +US$1 spurt overnight, now up over US$44/oz to a 14 year high.American oil prices are little-changed at just under US$62.50/bbl, with the international Brent price still just over US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 58.7 USc and up +10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are still just under 88.9 AUc. Against the euro we are down -10 bps at 49.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 65.9, uo +10 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$112,448 and down -2.7% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just over +/- 1.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news we are likely to get a lesson this week reconfirming that equity markets all look for short-term profit hits and are now setting prices on these short-term factors. But bond markets are much more focused on risks 10-30 years ahead and their signals are diverging markedly.This coming week however will largely feature reactions to last week's big events - the US Fed positioning and rate cut, and the awful NZ Q2-2025 GDP data.Here we will be watching for more fallout from that, after the NZD got marked down sharply. Will markets assess that the June result will be repeated in Q3? After all we are now only nine days from the end of Q3 and the appearance of 'better data' has been sparse and perhaps only in the last week or so. And on Thursday we will get an update of household net worth, but it will be year-old data. Much more current will be Thursday's results announcement from Fonterra.In Australia, they will also release household net worth data, on Friday, but for March this year. They will get PMI updates as well.Globally, the focus will briefly turn to New York for what is expected to be a turbulent moment for the UN with the US already barring some leaders from attending. New York time as the home of the General Assembly may be coming to an end.But economically, there will be many PMI updates out this week. The US will release its PCE data and another Q2-GDP update. And Fed speakers will all be out giving context to last week's rate cut decision. Switzerland and Sweden will be among those reviewing their policy interest rates. And later today, China will review its Loan Prime rates, although no change is expected.China released its August year-to-date foreign direct investment data over the weekend. They said they only attracted ¥507 bln in net foreign investment in those eight months. They said they attracted ¥467 bln in the seven months to July. So that means they gained a net +¥39 bln in August alone and that is a very low +US$5.5 bln and that is only one third of the August 2024 gain. Basically foreign direct investment into China from all sources is close to dead in the water.This doesn't mean that China's economic expansion won't be good in 2025 (over +5%). But it does point out how the two big powers are isolating themselves, with cross-border investment and economic connections all retreating.A recent example is that China's new iron ore buying monopoly has moved to shut out a key Australian blend from BHP. They have other options and are using their heft to try and bring BHP and Australia into line.Separately, Japan's inflation eased to 2.7% in August from 3.1% in July, the level since October 2024. There was a notable slowing in the rise in rice prices, enabling food price inflation to ease to 'only' 7.2% in August from a year ago. Overall prices were up +0.8% in the month with food prices up just +0.3% for the month.Japan's central bank announced the results of its policy rate review late on Friday and as expected left it unchanged at 0.5% at Friday's. This came amid the political uncertainty around the resignation of Prime Minister Ishiba. They also said that it will sell its holdings of exchange-traded funds and Japan real estate investment trusts (J-REITs) to the market. Here is their decision.Germany said its producer prices fell an outsized -2.2% in August from a year ago, a deflation sign they will not welcome and extends their deflationary pressure that started in July 2023. But most of that is coming from the lower cost of imported energy with local producer prices basically unchanged.Canada said its August retail sales rose +1%, more than offsetting its July dip. But it isn't clear how much of that is inflation related. But financial markets reacted positively, seeing consumer 'resilience' in the data. (One more -25 bps rate cut is expected in Canada before the end of the year.)The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.14%, up +1 bp from Saturday to be up +7 bps from a week ago. The price of gold will start today at US$3684/oz, up +US$3 from Saturday. That is up +US$36 from a week ago. Silver had another spurt over the weekend, now up over US$43/oz, a weekly gain of +US$1.American oil prices are little-changed at just over US$62.50/bbl and back to where they were a week ago, with the international Brent price still just over US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 58.6 USc and unchanged from Saturday although down a full -1c from a week ago. Against the Aussie we are just under 88.9 AUc. Against the euro we are still at 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 65.8, unchanged from Saturday but down -100 bps for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at US$115,509 and very little-changed from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been very low at just under +/- 0.3%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the New Zealand dollar has been re-rated sharply lower overnight, although to be fair only back to levels it was at in April. US benchmark interest rates are rising but the new weaker New Zealand economy is expected to drive the OCR lower than earlier expected.But first in the US, initial jobless claims came in lower than expected at +194,500, a decrease of 10,400 from the prior week when an increase of about that was indicated by seasonal factors. There are now 1.75 mln people on these benefits, +81,000 more than at this time last year.Meanwhile, the Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) retreated in August. A retreat was expected but it came in more than twice the expected decline. That means the LEI fell by -2.8% over the six months between February and August, a faster rate of decline than its -0.9% contraction over the previous six-month period. They noted persistently weak manufacturing new order levels and consumer expectations, and warn of increased headwinds ahead.But it is not weak everywhere. The Philly Fed factory survey for September picked up a modest rise in new orders. But firms in the region remain under sharp price pressure unable to pass on the higher prices they are paying.On the farm, the giant American soybean crop is about ready for harvest, and farmers are glum. The Chinese aren't buying and the Washington isn't coming to the rescue with subsidy support. Prices are back to 2016-2018 levels and the rural concern is palpable.In Financial markets, there was a notable less well-supported US Treasury inflation protected (TIPS) bond tender today that resulted in a median yield of 1.65% plus CPI inflation, compared to 1.93% plus CPI at the prior equivalent event three months ago.There were more central bank rate reviews overnight. Taiwan kept its policy rate unchanged at 2.0%. They have an inflation target of 2.0% and their CPI is currently running at 1.6%. Norway cut theirs by -25 bps to 4.0% in what has been called a "hawkish cut". They have inflation at 3.0% with their target at 2.0%. And the Bank of England held theirs at 4% as expected. They have inflation at inflation at 3.8% when their target is 2%. South Africa held at 7%. Inflation there is 3.3% with a preferred rate of 3.0%.China announced that its Boeing and Airbus-competing C919 aircraft has now received more than 1000 orders, mostly domestic but some international orders as well.Australian labour markets stumbled somewhat in August, falling -5,400 when a small +22,000 rise was expected. And the detail is even less positive because full-time employment fell by -40,900 to 10,077,300 people while part-time employment rose by +35,500 to 4,549,200 people. None of these changes were enough to materially change their 4.2% unemployment rate.Container freight rates fell -6% last week from the prior week with all the weakness coming from outbound rates from China. But bulk freight rates rose +3.4% last week to be +14.6% higher than year ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.11%, up +4 bps from yesterday at this time in a steady rise. The price of gold will start today at US$3,643/oz, down -US$15 from yesterday's post Fed dip.American oil prices are down -US$1 at just under US$63.50/bbl, with the international Brent price firmish just under US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.8 USc and down -90 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -70 bps at 88.9 AUc. Against the euro we are down -50 bps at 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66, down -50 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$117,553 and up +1.3% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just on +/- 1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news financial markets are struggling to make sense of the US Fed's latest rate cut rationale, one that looks infused with new White House politics.First up this morning, the US central bank cut its policy rate by -25 bps to 4.25% as expected, despite noting that American inflation is "somewhat elevated". It is their first reduction in borrowing costs since December 2024.They said they saw economic activity moderating in the first half of the year with job gains slowing and the unemployment rate edging up. But they still called their jobless rate 'low'. At the same time they noted inflation has moved up. But their economic projections showed they expect inflation over the next year to average 3.4%, higher than the latest CPI level of 2.9%.For some reason, this rising inflation, and 'low' unemployment was the basis for cutting their policy rate. Like many core US institutions, partisan politics is now infecting the Fed. Keeping the pressures under cover, the Fed's press release was unusually short this time, likely papering over the pressures being brought to bear. It looks like the only dissenter was the recent White House injected member.Financial markets have reacted however. After being lower ahead of the decisions, the S&P500 went volatile and is back, tracking slightly lower. The bond market also went volatile, and changed its course to push yields higher. The USD fell and the dollar index (DXY) is now at its lowest level since February 2022. Gold pushed up to a new record high - and then fell back. None of these reactions show confidence in the Trump pressures on the Fed.Meanwhile, US mortgage applications jumped sharply last week, a week that included the US Labor Day holiday. Mortgage interest rates dipped -10 bps in the week and borrowers who need to refinance rushed the opportunity. But new borrowing not so much.However, American housing starts tumbled uncomfortably in August, down far more than was anticipated to be -8.5% below July levels, and -6.0% lower than year-ago levels. New house building consents came in -11.1% below year ago levels, so it is unlikely their housebuilding industry will recover any time soon.Overnight, Canada also reviewed its policy interest rate overnight and cut them too, largely as expected. That takes their key rate to 2.5%. They see a weakening in the resilience first shown by Canadian reactions to their bullying from their southern neighbour. They are watching Canadian consumers and businesses becoming more 'cautious'.In Australia later today, we will get the August labour market report where another small gain in jobs is anticipated (+22,000) and their jobless rate is expected to hold at 4.2%.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.07%, up +4 bps from yesterday at this time after some bumpy volatility.The price of gold will start today at US$3,658/oz, down -US$29 from yesterday post the Fed.American oil prices are little-changed at just under US$64.50/bbl, with the international Brent price firmish just under US$68.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 59.7 USc and down -25 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 89.6 AUc. Against the euro we are down -5 bps at 50.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.5, down -20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$115,997 and down -0.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been low at just under +/- 0.8%.Join us at 10:45am this morning for full coverage of the New Zealand Q2-2025 GDP result. Financial markets are expecting a -0.3% dip from Q1 and no year-on-year economic expansion.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news markets now universally expect the American central bank to cut rates tomorrow by -25 bps.But today, the overnight dairy auction brought a much better result than expected with the declines for both WMP and SMP nowhere near as sharp as indicated by the earlier derivatives pricing. That will very much ease the pressure on any farm gate payout forecasts. The detail is interesting. There was notably softer demand from China for WMP, but that was countered by stronger SE Asian demand. Cheddar cheese prices rose because of some unexpected demand from North America, But mozzarella prices dived -9.6% on weak Chinese demand. Overall prices slipped just -0.8% in USD, but there were down a sharpish -2.9% in NZD as the greenback took a tumble overnight.Meanwhile, US retail sales rose in August and by a little more than expected. They were up +5.0% after a +4.1% rise in July. But this data is not inflation-adjusted in the way that other countries report. We will have to wait for sales volume data later in the month.And US industrial production rose in August too, but only up +0.1% from the prior month and only after a -0.4% revised fall in July. Year-on-year it is up +0.9%, about average for 2025, but hardly evidence of manufacturing reshoring.Homebuilder sentiment was flat in August as reported by the NAHB survey. It is remaining at the very low levels we have seen since May, and very much lower than this time last year. They are pinning their hopes on Fed rate cut(s) delivering a changed outlook.And staying in the US, crypto giant Binance looks like its lobbying and support of Trump will see the US Justice Department drop a key oversight requirement in its US$4.3 bln settlement of allegations that it didn't do enough to prevent money laundering. So, pay the money, get no oversight, and go back to enabling money laundering. A real Trump-type deal.Meanwhile, Canadian CPI inflation rose from 1.7% in July to 1.9% in August, a lesser rise than was anticipated. Meanwhile there was a rather sharp fall in housing starts there in August, down -16% from July to 245,791 units from a revised 293,537 in July and well below market expectations of 277,500. But they were still +10% higher than year-ago levels. A rate cut is coming in Canada tomorrow too.In China, there are some signs that Beijing's stimulus could be working. Steel output not only stopped falling, it actually picked up in the first two weeks of September, defying downbeat expectations. And iron ore prices rose too recently.In the EU, industrial production rose more than anticipated in July, although the expectations aren't high.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.03%, down -1 bp from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3,686/oz, up +US$7 from yesterday.American oil prices are up +US$1 at just over US$64.50/bbl, with the international Brent price firmish just over US$68.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 59.9 USc and up +20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 89.6 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at 50.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.7, little-changed from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$116,480 and up +1.3% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been low at just under +/- 0.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news both the US and China are eyeing rate cuts to bolster wavering economies.While all financial market attention is on the US Fed and its Thursday rate review - and market positioning is underway relative to the expected -25 bps cut - there is other economic news being released.The New York Empire factory survey delivered a negative surprise with new order levels falling sharply when they were expected to rise. That drove their overall survey negative when an expansion was anticipated.Across the Pacific, and in an unexpected result, China's retail sales data was released and were expected to have grown faster in August by +3.8%, up from +3.7% in July. Some anticipated a +5% rise. But in the end the rise was only +3.4%, and that was an eight month low.China's August industrial production was up +5.2%, a one year low, good but less than the +5.7% in July and also less than the expected +5.8%. All this was done with only a +1.6% rise in electricity production, and -3.2% fall in the production of fossil fuels, according to these official stats.China's house prices were generally stable in August. There were a few more signs of marginally higher prices in a few more cities for new developments. But the sales prices of pre-owned housing continues its slow droop and the trend is becoming ever more embedded as pressures mount.But probably worse from China was that fixed asset investment hardly rose, up just +0.5% for the eight months from the same period a year ago. It was expected to have risen +1.4% on this ytd basis. August 2025 alone actually came in lower than August 2024, a worrying sign.It is possible that the upcoming review on China's Loan Prime Rates may be cut to bolster their wobbly economic position. These are due for official review at the weekend.In Indonesia, they launched a new US$1 bln economic stimulus package to boost economic growth as a way of stabilising widespread unease about the country's direction.Indian exports softened in August, and their imports did too and by a bit more. That meant the expected -US$30 bln trade deficit for the month was lower than in July and lower than expected.India also had good labour market news with their jobless rate falling to a record low of 5.2% when a small rise was anticipated.In Australia, their National Climate Risk Assessment was released yesterday. They are trying to prioritise and plan how they will adapt and respond. The report says that while the world is already 1.2ºC hotter than during pre-industrial times, because of its sheer land size Australia is warming faster and is 1.5ºC hotter. Australia is experiencing more intense heatwaves on land and sea, rising seas and more frequent coastal flooding. Although the usual suspects remain in denial, a surprising number are now accepting it has become an urgent issue. Insurance premiums, even availability, will be how it will affect most people in Australia.But back with the headline financial market news. Ahead of the US Fed decision, equity markets are buoyant and all-in on optimism, but bond markets are wary, the USD is wavering, and commodity prices are little changed except for precious metals.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.04%, down -2 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,679/oz, up +US$38 from yesterday.American oil prices are up +US$1 at just under US$63.50/bbl, with the international Brent price firmish just on US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 59.7 USc and up +10 b ps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 89.5 AUc. Against the euro we are also down -10 bps at 50.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.7, little-changed from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$114,938 and down -0.6% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just under +/- 1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news fighting inflation may well be a downgraded objective in the face of political pressure. The consequences could be long-lasting and global.For financial markets, this week will be all about the US Fed's Thursday rate decision where now a -25 bps cut is widely anticipated, to try and weigh against the softening US labour market. The same day the Canadians will review their policy rate too where a similar -25 bps cuts is expected.And there will be central bank reviews in Japan this week (no change), Indonesia (no change), England (no change), and Brazil this week too.China will also review its key rates and no change is expected there either. And China will release a lot of August economic data too, including FDI data.Australia will release its August labour market update and a modest +25,000 rise in employment is anticipated. Our balance of payments data will be released on Wednesday (expect a larger deficit), and Q2-2025 GDP will be released on Thursday (expect a decline). And before that we will get the August REINZ data and a full dairy auction.But back in the US, the pessimistic turn continues. The widely-watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey delivered downbeat results in September, sharply lower from August and well below what analysts had expected. They had expected a turn lower but not by this much. Declines were strongest among lower- and middle-income households because concerns grew over business conditions, jobs, and inflation. Both short and long term sentiment fell back. This index is more than -20% lower than year-ago levels.Meanwhile, year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 4.8% while the five-year expectations moved up for the second straight month to 3.9% from 3.5%.Canadian building consents were unchanged in July from June but down -8.2% from a year ago. But most of this was due to non-residential work; residential consents were up, especially in Toronto.We should probably note that there are trade talks going on in Madrid between the US and China.In China, August data for new yuan loans came in well below what was expected although expectations weren't high. It was the lowest amount of bank debt for an August since 2011, extending the current period of weak credit demand amid the weakening consumer debt demand and the prolonged crisis for housing. The debt appetite dropped despite central bank efforts to loosen monetary conditions and stimulate borrowing.In India, consumer inflation rose, as expected, but only to 2.1% and ending a ten month period where it fell consistently from 6.2% to 1.6% in July. Food prices were little-changed and had no effect on the overall result.In France, Fitch has downgraded their credit rating to A+ from AA- on Friday, citing political turmoil and rising debt.We should probably note that copper prices are basically back to levels they were at five years ago, which is double what they were ten years ago. At current production levels the USGS estimates that existing mines will be able to operate for the next forty years, and proven resources will last about 200 years. (But there are expected to be much larger resources yet to be discovered.) We will look at some aspect core mineral resources weekly, going forward. (H/T PDK)The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.06%, little-changed from Saturday.The price of gold will start today at US$3,641/oz, down -US$7 from Saturday. That is up +US$48 from a week ago. Silver had another spurt, now up over US$42/oz.American oil prices are unchanged at just on US$62.50/bbl, with the international Brent price firmish just under US$67/bbl, both up +US$1 for the week.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 59.6 USc and unchanged from Saturday but up +70 bps from a week ago. Against the Aussie we are also unchanged at 89.6 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at 50.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.7, little-changed from Saturday but up +50 bps for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at US$115,666 and down -0.6% from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been very low at just on +/- 0.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news away from the guns and hatred consuming the US at present. Our challenge is to keep it out of our society.Markets had been waiting for the American August CPI inflation data and it came in higher, although no more than expected. It rose to 2.9% in August, the highest since January, after holding at 2.7% in both June and July. Prices rose at a faster pace for food (3.2%) and energy costs rose for the first time in seven months. On a monthly basis, the CPI went up 0.4%, the most since January, above forecasts of 0.3%. Rents rose 0.4%, the largest upward pressure. On the other hand, core inflation remained steady at 3.1%, the same as in July and at February's peak, while core CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month, matching July's pace and market forecasts.In a stable world, this level of inflation would not bring market expectations of a Fed rate cut next week, but there are widespread expectations of one anyway. And that is because their labour market is weakening quite fast now.Initial jobless claims in the US came in sharply higher last week at +263,000 s.a. a four year high and well above the expected high 235,000. In actual terms they rose +204,500 when a solid end-of-summer-holiday seasonal decrease was expected. There are now 1,815,000 on these benefits, +110,000 more that at the same time last year.Also getting much worse much faster is the US Federal government finances. The US Budget Statement was expected to hold at a very high -US$290 bln monthly deficit, but it has blown out to -US$345 bln in August. And this is after collecting US$30 bln in tariff-taxes in the month, US$165 bln so far in the fiscal year.Whatever way you look at it, the US economy is being mismanaged on a massive scale. Too much inflation, too little job creation, too large tax avoidance by the uber-wealthy, and self-imposed tariff-taxes on themselves. And unfortunately their social programs are making things worse at a fundamental level too.New independent analysis shows that the long-held view that American demographics would remain very positive to the end of the century have suddenly turned. Now US deaths will exceed births by 2031, far faster than expected. And the deaths will rise quicker until 2055 when they will match immigration. And these estimates are before the Kennedy/Trump health mistakes which will undoubtedly speed up deaths. And the Trump heavy-handed immigration crackdowns that will likely mean the immigration assumptions are far too optimistic. If demographics are destiny, the destiny of the US looks grim and we can no longer hold the assumption that it will be a major power by 2100. That is a sharp change from the demographic outlook just a few years ago.New data out in Canada shows Canadians are wealthier with an increase of over a quarter of a trillion dollars to C$17.9 tln, the seventh consecutive quarterly increase. This wealth accumulation happened despite headwinds of global trade pressures and a weakening economy. Per capita GDP is now C$76,100 (NZ$92,100).Across the Pacific in Japan's producer prices there rose +2.7% in the year to August, up from a marginally revised +2.5% increase in the previous month. This data doesn't really add stress or new factors for Japan. A year earlier their PPI rose at a 2.6% rate.In China, new vehicle sales recovered in August, up +10.1% after the unexpected -10.7% fall in July. Total vehicle sales are expected to grow +4.7% in 2025 to almost 33 mln units from 31.4 mln in 2024, with the NEV sector surging +24% to 16 mln units. That will keep it almost twice the size of the US vehicle market. China's car market is a global goliath. (The US vehicle market is running at 16.1% mln annual sales, a dip in August from July.)In Europe, the European Central Bank kept its three key interest rates unchanged, with the deposit facility at 2.00%, the main refinancing rate at 2.15%, and the marginal lending rate at 2.40%, all as expected. Inflation remains close to the 2% medium-term target, and the outlook is broadly unchanged from June. New staff projections see headline inflation averaging 2.1% in 2025, easing to 1.7% in 2026 before rising slightly to 1.9% in 2027.Occasionally we check in with what is happening in Turkey, an authoritarian regime that has made massive mistakes with capricious monetary policy moves, and is paying the price with tough consequences. The Central Bank of Turkey cut its benchmark interest rate overnight by a surprisingly large -250 bps to 40.5% in its September meeting, its lowest since 2023. The move follows signs of slowing underlying inflation in August, though food and services prices continue to pressure inflation. Domestic demand remains weak.In Australia, consumer inflation expectations rose to 4.7% in the September survey by the Melbourne Institute, from August's five-month low of 3.9%. The increase came as stronger domestic demand raised concerns about renewed inflationary pressures, with household consumption proving resilient in Q2-2025. This is the sort of news the RBA will not welcome. No rate cut is priced in for September 30 but one is for November 4, although that might get reassessed now.Global container freight rates fell -3% last week from the prior week on very much weaker outbound rates from China to Europe. Interestingly, outbound rates from China to the USWC actually rose last week by +6%. (Year-on-year comparisons are still affected by last year's Red Sea stress.) Bulk freight rates roise +8% over the past week to be +8.5% higher than year ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now on 4.00%, down -3 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,635/oz, down -US$10 from yesterday.American oil prices are down -US$1 at just over US$62.50/bbl with the international Brent price is similarly lower at just on US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just over 59.7 USc and up another +20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 89.7 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 50.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.8, unchanged from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$114,552 and up +0.7% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low, at just over +/- 0.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news all eyes are now on tomorrow's US CPI release for August.But first, there was surprising news from the US. August producer prices rose far less than any analyst has forecast. In fact they fell -0.1% in August from July, following a downwardly revised +0.7% gain in July, driven by a sharp decline in margins for machinery and vehicle wholesaling as importers absorbed some of the tariff taxes. On an annual basis, headline producer inflation slowed to 2.6%, while core producer inflation eased to 2.8%. Analysts had expected the year-on-year change to be up +3.5%.Markets took these changes at face value, ignoring the "new management" at the agency compiling the data. It is being seen as "Fed-friendly" for a rate cut next week. Although to be fair far more will depend on tomorrow's CPI release where rates closer to 3% are anticipated.Also unusually positive was last week's data on US mortgage applications. They jumped +9.2% from the prior week to be +11.6% higher than year-ago levels. Driving the turnaround was a -15 bps plunge in benchmark mortgage rates, which fell to their lowest in nearly one year as a wave of pessimistic labour market data drove yields on long-dated Treasury securities to retreat. Applications for a loan to refinance a current mortgage, which are more sensitive to changes in interest rates, surged by +12.2% from the previous week to their highest level in one year. In turn, applications for a mortgage to purchase a new home rose by +6.6%.And there was another US Treasury 10 year bond auction earlier today and that resulted in a median yield of 3.99%, down from 4.20% at the prior equivalent event a month ago. But a feature of this latest event was the declining demand, down -8.5% which is a notable pullback.Across the Pacific, Japanese manufacturers are feeling bullish, especially about export prospects. The Reuters Tankan index rose to a very positive level in September, its highest level since April 2022. Easing trade uncertainties following the Japanese-US tariff deal that sharply eased the tariff rate is behind the shift. Sentiment improved across six of nine manufacturing industries surveyed.In China, they reported that consumer prices dropped -0.4% in August from a year ago, after being unchanged in the prior month and missing market expectations of a -0.2% decline. It was the fifth episode of consumer deflation this year and the sharpest drop since February. China has a similar period of deflation in the second half of 2023, but escaped those pressures in 2024. But they are back again. Food prices fell -1.2%, but beef prices were down -4.3% and lamb prices down -3.6% on that annual basis. Milk prices fell -1.4%.Meanwhile Chinese producer prices dropped -2.9% in the year to August, less than the -3.6% drop in July, which was the steepest decline since July 2023. Producer prices have now deflated for 35 consecutive month although the latest data is the smallest decline since April.Despite growing civil unrest and street demonstrations in Jakarta, Indonesian consumer sentiment was little-changed in August, although it is maintaining its recent low that started in May. However in a longer term perspective, it is +20% higher than it was a decade ago. (The last thing Canberra want to see is an unstable Indonesia as a neighbour.)Fitch Ratings has raised its world growth forecasts for 2025 moderately since the June Global Economic Outlook on better-than-expected incoming data for 2Q-2025. But there is now evidence of an underlying US slowdown in ‘hard' economic data and positive surprises on eurozone growth have partly reflected US tariff front-running, they say. Fitch still expects world GDP to slow significantly this year.Global growth is now forecast to be 2.4% in 2025, up 0.2pp since June but a sizeable slowdown from 2.9% last year and below trend. China's forecast has been raised to 4.7% from 4.2%, the Eurozone's to 1.1% from 0.8% and the US's to 1.6% from 1.5%. World growth for 2026 is 0.1pp higher at 2.3%.The UST 10yr yield is now over 4.03%, down -4 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at a new high at US$3,645/oz, up +US$4 from yesterday.American oil prices are up +US$1 at just over US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price is similarly higher at just on US$67.50/bbl. American crude oil stocks jumped, and for a second week in a row, when declines were anticipated, indicating weaker demand than expected.The Kiwi dollar is now at just over 59.5 USc and up +20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 89.8 AUc. Against the euro we are up +20 bps at 50.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.8, down -20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$113,721 and up +2.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate, also at just over +/- 1.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that rather than understating US jobs growth - which got her fired - the stats agency reporting labour market data overstated Trump's jobs growth, and by some margin.But first up today, there was a dairy Pulse auction earlier today for both SMP and WMP, and while prices dipped as expected, they didn't dip as much as the derivatives markets had signaled. WMP was down just -0.2% from the full auction the prior week, SMP was down -0.6%. However the firming NZD resulted in about a -1.5% fall in NZD terms.In the US, small business NFIB sentiment survey for August reported stable conditions with some issues easing, some tightening.There was a US Treasury 3yr bond auction earlier today that was well supported but less well than the prior equivalent event a month ago. It resulted in a median yield of 3.45%, down sharply from the 3.61% at that prior equivalent event. The outsized shift down likely reflects bond investor risk aversion.Although it is just a statistical adjustment, updated data shows the US economy added -911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March than initially reported - the largest downward revision since at least 2000. This is a -0.6% adjustment, far more that the average change of +0.2% in total nonfarm employment over the past decade. Nearly all sectors added fewer jobs than initially estimated.If the US Fed cuts rates next week to bolster their slowing economy, it will likely signal that their are changing their inflation goal from 2% to 3%, and prepared to accept stagflation over stagnation. The risk is they get both.Across the Pacific, Japanese machine tool orders were up +8.1% in August from a year ago, largely due to a +12% surge in export orders. Export orders made up almost three quarters of this industry's order book in August.And Taiwan kept up its amazing record of export growth in August. They jumped more than +34% from a year ago and outperforming market expectations of +22% growth.In Russia, their Federal Treasury reported another deep deficit in August, the second in a row and the first time ever of back-to-back deficits exceeding -1.9% of GDP.In Australia, ANZ Group's new broom CEO Nuno Matos has kicked off a change program at the four-pillar bank with plans to shed 3,500 Australian staff.The Westpac-MI consumer sentiment survey slipped on darker views about the economic outlook and less confidence about getting any more rate cuts from the RBA - because inflation is still 'too high'. Analysts had expected this survey to possibly break into net optimism in September, but it was not to be.Meanwhile the August NAB business confidence report shows it fell a minor 3 points, following four consecutive months of improving sentiment and leaves confidence also close to long run average levelsThe UST 10yr yield is now under 4.07%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at a new high at US$3,641/oz, up +US$9 from yesterday.American oil prices are marginally firmer, at just over US$62.50/bbl with the international Brent price is +50 USc firmer at just on US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just over 59.3 USc and unchanged from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 90 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 50.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.6, down -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$111,080 and down -1.1% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate, also at just under +/- 1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news bond markets are increasingly worried about what will transpire from the US CPI data for August later this week, and the US Fed's reaction next week.First today, American inflation expectations seem to be rising. In August they came in at 3.2%, their highest in three months. While that is higher than year ago levels too, some of the detail is a bit of a worry. Those surveyed say rents are expected to rise 6.0%, food by 5.5% and petrol by 3.9%. Also of some note is that job finding expectations have now fallen to a record low in a data series that started in June 2013. More than 14% of those surveyed say they are likely to lose their job in the year ahead. There is a palpable sense of fear and squeeze in these survey results. The fast-tightening labour market has many on edge.Meanwhile, August data for American consumer debt shows it rising, up +3.8% from a year ago with revolving debt up a sharp +9.7% on the same basis. Debt levels at credit unions seem to be leading the rises. These are all three year highs and the sudden shift likely indicates rising debt stress.The USD is falling, heading towards a three year low. Benchmark bond yields are falling and the UST 10 year is near a one year low.Across the Pacific, Chinese exports grew by +4.4% in August from a year ago, a level many others would like to have but it is lower than the expected +5% and July's +7.2% growth. And it is the softest pace of outbound shipment growth since February. Meanwhile their imports were up +1.3% in August on the same basis, less than the expected +3% and July's +4.1% rise. But that meant that their trade balance swelled to +US$102 bln in August, better than the +US$99 expected and higher than July's +US$91 bln.While China's exports and imports to the US eased back in August, they still ran a +US$24.3 bln monthly surplus with this strategic rival and that isn't declining materially. It's the largest surplus they run with anyone, although the combined nations of the EU ran a larger deficit with China at US$28.9 bln in August.In Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned over the weekend and new candidates are lining up to replace him. Financial markets are buoyant there on the prospect that a new leaders may chase fiscal expansion.And in France, their prime minister has lost a confidence vote.In Germany, their exports came in slightly weaker than expected in August when a rise was anticipated. But it was still a good gain on a year ago, and helped them maintain a healthy trade surplus. Meanwhile German industrial production came in much better in July than expected, bouncing back from a weak June.The UST 10yr yield is now under 4.05%, down -4 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today surging to a new high at US$3,633/oz, up +US$47 from yesterday.American oil prices are a bit firmer, up less than +50 USc at just under US$62.50/bbl with the international Brent price also firmer just on US$66/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just over 59.3 USc and up +40 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 91.1 AUc. Against the euro we are also up +20 bps at 50.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.7, up +30 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$112,282 and up 1.1% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just under +/- 1.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news American right-wing swamp populism is driving the world's economy into a blind alley. Other countries are trying to figure out how to separate themselves from that.In the week ahead, financial markets will be assessing the risks of stagflation after the weaker labour market report in the US, and the growing expectation that inflation's new rise will pick up steam. In the US we will get August CPI and PPI data at the end of the week and their core CPI rate could well rise from its July 3.1% rate. That data will be put in context with the next University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey update.Inflation data from both China and India is also due, but little upward pressure is expected to be seen from either of them. In China, new initiatives on support measures to keep their economy from stuttering are expected this week largely to fend of deflationary pressures.The ECB will be reviewing its policy rates this week, but no change is expected. Inflation is no threat there, giving them options.Over the weekend we got a keenly anticipated American update on their labour market. It turned out that analysts were right to think the low forecast of a +75,000 rise in US non-farm jobs was optimistic. In fact they came in at +22,000 for August. June data was revised down by -27,000 and the change for July was revised up by +6,000. With these revisions, employment in June and July combined is 21K lower than previously reported. Trump's firing of the agency that reports this data isn't changing the sharp trend lower. Trump now has to own this trend.In fact, the total jobs added in May, June, July and August in 2025 is about the same as was added in August 2024 alone. For them its a concerning trajectory but it can all be traced to junk public policy.Worse, the data shows that manufacturing jobs fell -12,000 in August with clearly no sign of factory jobs reshoring.If we look at the unadjusted data for civilian employment - which accounts for more than just those on employer payrolls, the July to August change was a -511,000 reduction. It's a time when the self-employed are really struggling.All this downbeat data is reflected in the financial markets on Friday. Wall Street was down -0.3%, bond yields fell sharply again, and the USD weakened. The pall spread to Europe too where they are digesting the latest US strategic insult.The chance of a rate cut by the Fed has now become a certainty in financial market pricing as the central bank is scrambling to contain the growing fiscal mess which looks like it is going to be much larger than feared, and much sooner. A full -25 bps rate cut is priced in for the mid-September meeting, and another before the end of the year. Trump will get his rate cuts because of his actions to tank the US economy. But there are voting members who still insist that inflation should be contained before they cut. The next US CPI data is due in a week and the current +2.7% inflation rate is widely expected to rise to 2.9% and a core rate back over 3.0% which emphasises the risks stagflation's effects are hurting the world's largest economy.It was no better in Canada where payroll employment fell -65,500 in August from July largely due to a sharp fall in part-time employment (-59,700). The trade shock with the US is getting the blame here too.In Canada they watch the Ivey PMI closely and that shifted from a modest expansion in July to none in August. But at least it wasn't contracting. Consistent with their official jobs data, the employment sub-component of this PMI was contracting.A -25 bps rate cut there is also priced in before the end of 2025. Canadian August inflation is expected to come in little-changed at 1.7% on September 16, 2025.The Canadian government is taking an activist approach to protecting their economy with a major support announcement on Friday.Data out across the Pacific was far more encouraging. Singapore said its retail activity expanded far more than expected in July, and is now up +4.1% from June, up +4.8% from a year ago. It has been on a rising trend for almost all of 2025.And China said its fx reserves rose to US$3.32 tln in August, its highest since late 2015. And it purchased a bit more gold in the month, helped by the rise in the gold price of course, which adds another US$2.5 tln to to reserves which now total US$3.64 tln.In Australia, extended June quarter labour market data showed that the number of total jobs there increased +0.3% to 16.3 million. Filled jobs rose +0.2% to 16.0 million where secondary jobs decreased -1.2% to 1.0 million and multiple job-holders decreased -1.3% to 948,900. Hours worked increased +0.3% to 6.0 billion hours in the quarterThe FAO global food price monitoring shows that in August overall prices were stable and just marginally higher than where they ended 2024. Dairy prices look like they have peaked but meat prices are still rising driven by beef and sheep meats.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.09%, unchanged from yesterday at this time. That makes the weekly backslide -14 bps and to a five month low. The price of gold will start today at US$3,585/oz, down -US$7 from Saturday and just off its record high. That is up almost +US$150 from a week ago and a sharp +4.4% risk aversion rise for the week.American oil prices are a bit softer at just under US$62/bbl on the struggling US domestic prospects with the international Brent price also softer just on US$65.50/bbl. A big new burst of crude production is on its way too.The Kiwi dollar is at just over 58.9 USc and little-changed from Saturday. Against the Aussie we are also unchanged at 89.9 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at 50.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.4, up +10 bps from Saturday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$111,046 and down a mere +0.1% from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/- 0.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news financial markets can now taste a US Fed rate cut.Today, all eye are on tomorrow's August non-farm payrolls report for the US. Analysts expect them to rise a minor +75,000 but overnight labour market data suggests that may be optimistic.First, US initial jobless claims rose last week to 197,000 when seasonal factors suggested it should have fallen. There are now more than 1.89 mln people on these benefits, +90,000 more than at the same time last year.Announced August job cuts came in at 86,000 in August, +40% more than in July. So far this year, companies have announced 892,000 job cuts, the highest year-to-date level since 2020 when 1,963,500 were announced. It is up +66% from the same period last year and is now +17% higher in 2025's eight months than all of the 2024 full calendar year total (of 761,500).Maintaining the weakening theme, the ADP Employment Report only reported a jobs gain of +54,000 in August, below the expected low +65,000 and well below July's +106,000. In August 2024 this data showed a +180,000 rise.US labour productivity is improving however, with faster rises in output while labour hours only show a modest increase. Year on year this productivity measure is up +1.1%.And there was better PMI data out for the US services sector with the widely-watched ISM version expanding slightly more than expected, while the S&P Global/Markit version expanded better even if it was adjusted lower than its earlier 'flash' version. Encouragingly, in both versions new order flows kept these metrics positive and they are at similar levels as a year ago.US exports were little-changed in July from a year ago, as were the level of imports. That resulted in a goods & services trade deficit almost identical to a year ago. Still, it is now at a four month high. Tariffs have yet to move the trade needle either way (other than collect much more tax from importers).Financial market reactions to this generally downbeat economic news - was upbeat, on the basis that it makes a Fed rate cut on September 18 (our time) more likely. Equities rose modestly, but bond yields fell quite hard.Meanwhile Canada also said its exports, imports and trade balance was little-different in July from June, although quite a bit worse than year-ago levels. But the deficit is still quite small (-C$4.9 bln) in relation to the Canadian economy, and their smallest deficit in four months.In China, they are rolling out a new policy to try and juice up consumption - State-subsidised personal loans. Like the rest of the world, but more so in China, "moire debt" is the answer to all economic problems.With headline inflation at just 1.4%, the Malaysian central bank kept its policy rate unchanged overnight at 2.75%.EU retail sales slipped in July from June, but remain +2.2% higher than year-ago levels. They report on a volume basis, so these gains are 'real'.In Australia, household spending is strong and rising. It was up +5.1% in July from the same month a year ago, up +0.5% in July from June which is an even faster rate. That's the third month in a row it has risen and it has risen in nine of the past ten months. In July, this spending was concentrated on services, especially health services, hotel accommodation, air travel, and dining out. But they actually cut back on spending on goods.Meanwhile, the Australian trade balance turned up after a series of declines. Markets expected a +AU$5 bln surplus in July after a +AU$5.4 bln surplus they got in June. But in fact the surplus came in as +AU$7.4 bln in July, helped by a +3.3% monthly rise in exports and a -1.3% monthly fall in imports. That means the surplus hit a 21 month high.Global container freight rates were virtually unchanged last week from the prior week, although still down massively from the Red Sea crisi affected year ago levels. Interestingly, outbound rates from China to the US rose a sharpish +8% or more last week, but that was balanced by large falls in the China-to-Europe trade. Bulk cargo rates are still in a narrow band, little-changed from last week.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.17%, down another -5 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,543/oz, down -US$30 from yesterday.American oil prices are little-changed at just over US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price -50 USc softer just on US$67/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 58.4 USc and down -40 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps 89.6 AUc. Against the euro we are also down -20 bps at 50.2 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.1, down -20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$109,830 and down -2.3% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the world's largest economy is being hit today with a string of pessimistic data reports, despite one of the tech giants avoiding a breakup which saw its shares surge to a record high.American job openings fell by 176,000 to 7.18 mln in July and that was the lowest level since September 2024 and well below market expectations of 7.4 mln. Interestingly, there was wide regional variation with openings dropping most in the South, down -161,000, while they rose in the West, up by +113,000 openings.So it won't be a surprise to learn that mortgage applications fell again last week, the third consecutive weekly retreat. This happened even though mortgage interest rates were little-changed.And it also won't be too much of a surprise to learn that US factory orders declined also in July from June, down an outsized -1.3% - and the June data was revised lower to be down -4.3%. New durable goods orders were down -2.8% in July. These won't be welcome trends, especially as tariffs were supposed to bolster US manufacturing. Year-on-year the July levels are up +1.8% and well below what can be accounted for by inflation. But it will be the recent sharper trends lower that are most concerning.So the Fed's August Beige Book note of "flat to declining consumer spending because, for many households, wages were failing to keep up with rising prices. Contacts frequently cited economic uncertainty and tariffs as negative factors." will come as no surprise.In China, all the news is about its massive military parade in Tiananmen Square. This one follows similar shows of force that started in Pyongyang on April 15, followed in Tehran on April 20, then Moscow on May 9, and Washington DC on June 14. All organised by authoritarians. It's a militarisation trend that is very retrograde. And they are massive propaganda exercises, so it is disappointing that some of our politicians want to be seen at them. But like many others, they follow the money and incentives.Staying in China, the RatingDog (ex-Caixin) services PMI for August expanded faster than July and to a good level, better than expected and the fastest expansion in their services sector since May 2024. New orders grew at the strongest pace since May 2024, supported by a stronger rise in new export business, which increased at the fastest rate in six months. Like yesterday's RatingDog factory PMI, this survey as also better than the official services PMI.And South Korean officials now say they want to join the CPTPP, as insurance against US tariff moves against them. The path won't be easy for them, mainly because they have built up insulations and protections against Japanese investment making inroads into their economy.In Europe, producer prices were only up a modest +0.4% in July from a year ago, confirming they seem to have a good lid on inflation there. But the more recent indications are rises that are slightly above that (at a rate of +0.6%). At least the Europeans don't have the pressure of self-imposed tariff-taxes. Their cost competitive position vs the US is improving sharply.Australian economic activity grew +0.6% in Q2-2025, accelerating from an upwardly revised +0.3% in Q1 and better than analyst expectations of +0.5%. Year on year Australian GDP was up +1.8%, above forecasts of +1.6% and the fastest pace since Q3 2023.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.22%, down -6 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,573/oz, up +US$47 from yesterday and surging to yet another new record high. Silver has moved higher too and now over US$41/oz.American oil prices are -US$2 lower at just over US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price holding just under US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 58.8 USc and up +10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps 89.8 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 50.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.3, unchanged from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$112,443 and up +1.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/- 0.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that US financial markets are back from holiday and concluding that the tech sector is over-valued and that US public policy is heading into a blind alley. The bond market sentiment we noted in the past month has now spread into the equity markets.And you can see the rising risk aversion in the gold price, driving it sharply higher today into new territory.At the overnight dairy auction, prices slumped more than -4.3% in US dollar terms. The situation was 'saved' somewhat by the sharpish recent fall in the NZD, so in local currency terms it was 'only' down -3.5%. Both the milk powders retreated sharply, with SMP down -5.8% and WMP down -5.3%. Most other milk fat commodities fell too with the notable exception of cheddar cheese which was up +3.6%.Although its only one event, the dominant WMP price is now back to early 2025 levels, and with a bit of a thud. Analysts will be keeping an eye on this, unlikely to shift their farmgate price forecasts but wouldn't want these lower levels to repeat. But good global supply levels won't help future prices especially if demand turns soft and it seems to be doing in some key markets.In the US, the widely-watched ISM factory PMI was still contracting at a concerning rate in August. And that was despite a small rise in new orders. Both measures were lower than expected. The alternate S&P Global/Markit PMI told a different story however, rising on more production and inventory building. But it was the ISM one that markets took more notice of.US logistics LMI was little-changed. But the elements like inventory levels and inventory costs are rising at an increasing rate, and these are not good portends.And the RCM/TIPP consumer sentiment index was quite downbeat as well. In fact it fell when a rise was anticipated.In Canada, their factory PMI rose from the deepish contraction it has been in for most of 2025, but it is still not expanding. It too was based on rising production, but no rise in new orders.In Europe, they said their August inflation was running at 2.1%, up marginally from +2.0% in July. Interestingly, energy costs are still retreating but the impact on the overall price level is now much less with food and services prices rising at a much lesser rate now.A new global report is highlighting that electricity demand is on course to rise by +3.3% in 2025 and +3.7% in 2026, more than twice as fast as total energy demand growth over the same period. According to the report, renewables are expected to overtake coal as the world's largest source of electricity generation as early as 2025 or by 2026 at the latest, depending on weather and fuel price trends. At the same time, nuclear power output is expected to reach record highs. The steady increase in natural gas-fired power generation is set to continue displacing coal and oil in the power sector in many regions.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.28%, up +3 bps from yesterday at this time. The key 2-10 yield curve is up at +63 bps. The last time it was this steep was in February 2022. Long dated yields are on the move higher. The UST 30 year yield is actually closing in on 2007 levels and almost at 5%.The price of gold will start today at US$3,526/oz, up +US$50 from yesterday and surging to a new record high. Silver has moved higher too but not as aggressively.American oil prices are +US$1 firmer at just over US$65.50/bbl with the international Brent price holding just over US$69/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 58.7 USc and down -30 bps from yesterday and its lowest level since mid-April. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps 89.9 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 50.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.3, down -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$110,892 and up +1.8% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that while financial markets are quiet due to the US Labor Day holiday, the data being reported in the rest of the world is actually very encouraging, especially for the factory sectors.In China, the private Caixin PMI has a new sponsor - RatingDog. It is still produced by S&P Global. That August factory PMI showed manufacturing output returned to growth in August. Total new business expanded at quickest pace since March. But it also reported the fastest rise in average input prices in nine months. As has become the norm in 2025, this private PMI series is more bullish than the official PMI.While we are noting improved factory PMIs in Australia and China, we should also note that they improved in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia as well. The Trump tariff-taxes aren't killing these countries. In fact, because it is the American importers who are paying these taxes (and ultimately the American consumer), the whole tariff journey just shows the American's are prepared to pay a lot more for what they import, and demand isn't flagging. Yet, anyway.Of special note is the regaining of momentum in India where their factory PMI turned notably higher on new orders and new-found momentum. This is now their fastest improvement in operating conditions in seventeen and a half years, with production growth accelerating to a nearly five-year high, supported by strong demand and better alignment of supply with orders. New orders rose at the fastest pace in nearly five years, and given they have been strong in the lead-up, this is really saying something.Even European factories are on the move up, returning to expansion with the sharpest rise in factory output since March 2022. Their factory PMI is now at its highest in 41 months.Australia's factory sector expansion accelerated again in August. Higher new order levels, supported by a rise in exports, led to a solid rise in production. Confidence rose to its highest level since February 2022. The survey showed that manufacturers hired more staff and raised their purchasing and inventory levels. Meanwhile price pressures remained little problem.And staying in Australia, their residential building consents fell -8.2% in July from June, almost double the market expectations of a -4.8% fall. This sharply ate into the upwardly revised +12.2% increase in June. The decline was largely due to a sharp fall in approvals for dwellings that weren't houses (apartments and townhouses). By state, approvals fell sharpest in New South Wales (-25%), while rising in Tasmania (+12%), Western Australia (+12%), in Queensland (+5.9%).Lower new homebuilding is juicing up their existing-home real estate markets. Cotality reported strong August gains from July, up +0.7% for the month nationally. It's back as a strong sellers market. The rises in Brisbane and Perth are notable, but the gains in Adelaide and Sydney were not far behind them in August. The consequences for affordability for most aspiring buyers look awful.We should probably also note that the forecast for Australia's wheat crop was raised sharply in an overnight update. Good rains recently is behind the revision.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.25%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time. The key 2-10 yield curve is up at +62 bps. The last time it was this steep was in February 2022. Long dated yields are on the move higher. The UST 30 year yield is actually closing in on 2007 levels. The price of gold will start today at US$3,477/oz, up +US$30 from yesterday and a new record high. Silver topped US$40/oz for the first time since 2011, also near a record high.American oil prices are +50 USc firmer at just over US$64.50/bbl with the international Brent price holding just over US$68/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 59 USc and unchanged from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps 90 AUc. Against the euro we are down -10 bps as well at 50.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 66.4, down -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$108,918 and little-changed (down -0.1%) from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/- 1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news there was an unexpected turn in the US tariff situation late last week.In a dramatic ruling, most of Trump's global tariffs were declared illegal by a US appeals court that found he exceeded his authority in imposing them. He will almost certainly appeal to his Supreme Court.Then, over the weekend we got the official Chinese PMIs for August and they extended the sluggish environment their manufacturing sector finds itself in. Despite the 90 'extension' before punitive tariffs kick in with the US, orders contracted for a fifth consecutive month. On the services side however, they maintained their small expansion in August, albeit marginally better.But early data suggests their housing slump is not ending, maybe even getting worse. Sale volumes in August are likely to be more than -17% lower than a year ago.Although it is a shortened week in the US, it ends with the August jobs data. Markets expect another weak result (just +78,000). You will recall the weak data last month saw Trump fire the agency head who compiled it. So there will be special attention this time on its believability under the BLS agency's deputy. Before that we will get lead-up jobs data, the ISM PMIs for the US.Canada will also release labour market data. The EU inflation data, and others will release GDP data for Q2-2025, including from Australia on Wednesday.At the end of last week, July data out in the US shows that disposable personal income was up +2.0% from a year ago, personal consumption expenditure was up +2.1% on the same basis. On a month-on-month basis, the income was up +0.4% and expenditure up +0.5%. These elements are not major but they do indicate a tightening in household financial budgets.Nested deep within this release was that core PCE index rose 2.9% year-on-year in July, its largest rise since February and above the Fed's target and comfort zone. Tariff costs are getting the blame. Financial markets noticed.And that is the same sort of tightening indicated by the widely-watched University of Michigan sentiment survey. Its final August version fell back markedly from its initial readings, a clear indication households are finding it tougher. It is now -14% lower than a year ago. The Biden boom is now just a memory.On the factory floor, the latest indicators are shifting down too. The August Chicago PMI headed south quite sharply to be -10% below year-ago levels.And the US seems to be losing the tariff war it started - and Americans are paying the tariff-taxes. The latest trade data for July shows that the US merchandise trade deficit jumped to -US$104 billion in the month, exactly the same as July a year ago, and far above expectations of -US$90 bln deficit. It is their largest in four months. Imports jumped +7.1% from a month earlier, led by industrial supplies, capital goods, food, and consumer goods. Meanwhile, exports slipped -0.1%.Certainly, American farmers are not happy. And they have a President who probably doesn't even know where Pakistan is, let alone most other simple facts.In Canada, they got a sharp dose of shock in their Q2-2025 GDP result from the sharp turn on them from their southern neighbour. Their GDP fell -0.4% in the quarter and cancelling out the +0.5% gain in their first quarter. Year-on-year their GDP is still up +0.9% however.Across the Pacific the economic data is generally much more positive. South Korea's retail sales surged +2.5% in July from June, a big jump from a revised +0.7% increase in June and marking the fastest growth in over two years. From a year ago it is up +2.4% and that too is the most since January 2022.South Korean industrial production grew solidly in July as well, up +5.0% from a year ago.After a good gain in June, Japan's industrial production fell -1.6% in July, reversing a +2.1% June gain and much more than the -1.0% decline anticipated.Japanese retail sales only rose by +0.3% in July from a year ago, slowing sharply from a downwardly revised +1.9% gain in June and falling well short of market expectations for a +1.8% increase.But Japanese consumer confidence actually rose in August to its best level of the year with gains across all surveyed questions.We should also note that protests in Jakarta on Friday that turned deadly have put Indonesia on edge. They have spread over the weekend. Canberra will be watching nervously.In Europe, the ECB's survey found that consumer inflation expectations were stable ("well anchored") in July at 2.6% for the year ahead.Globally, air passenger demand was up +4.0% in July, driven by the Asia/Pacific +5.7% rise and held back by the North American +1.9% rise. Most of this is due to international travel. Meanwhile, air cargo traffic was even stronger in July, up +5.5% from a year ago, up +6.0% for international trade. Asia/Pacific was the strongest region here too, up +11.0% for international cargoes. But North American international cargo volumes only rose +1.5%, the weakest global region.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.23%, unchanged from Saturday, but down -3 bps from a week ago. The price of gold will start today at US$3,447/oz, up another +US$5 from Saturday, and close to a new record high, but basically a measure of the USD markdown. A week ago it was at US$3,371/oz so a net +US$76 gainAmerican oil prices are again little-changed at US$64/bbl with the international Brent price holding just under US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 59 USc and unchanged from Saturday at this time, up +30 bps for the week. Against the Aussie we are holding at 90.1 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged as well at 50.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.5, and unchanged from Saturday, up +20 bps for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at US$109,022 and up +0.5% from this time Saturday. But is down -6.7% for the week. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/- 0.5%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news markets have brushed off the Nvidia result and chosen to extend their risk appetite. The S&P500 is at another new record high. But bond markets aren't so sure this is justified.In the real world, US initial jobless claims were little-changed last week from the prior week, both in actual terms and from what seasonal factors would have suggested. There are now 1,945,000 people on these benefits, +101,500 more than at the same time last year.The American GDP Q2-2025 GDP was revised slightly higher in its second estimate than the first mainly due to a slightly smaller decline in investment.Pending home sales fell -0.4% in July from June, extending the -0.8% drop in the prior month to mark the first back-to-back contraction since January. They were down -0.7% from a year ago as the American housing market seems in a long-term slow decline having never really recovering from the pandemic period.The Kansas City Fed factory survey was stable overall but that was despite a fall in export orders and elevated cost pressures. survey. There was a modest rise in August from July, but most metrics are still lower than a year ago.Earlier today there was a much less supported US Treasury seven year bond auction (-11% less bid value) but the median yield fell to 3.87% from 4.06% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.In Canada they reported that average weekly earnings were up +3.7% to C$1,302 in June, following a +3.3% increase in May.In India, industrial production rose in July and the pace picked up by more than expected. The expansion was +3.5% when +2.1% was anticipated, and more than double the pace of June's +1.5%.In Europe, despite their inflation pressures being modest and on target, settling it at 2.0%, the overnight release of the ECB minutes revealed a split among policy makers on how to assess future risk. They left their policy rate unchanged despite some thinking rates need to go lower to support growth and counter US tariffs, while others thinking the risk of future inflation is rising. Despite that split review, in the end the decision to hold rates unchanged was unanimous.Global container shipping freight rates fell -6% last week from the week before to be -60% lower than year-ago levels, although that year-ago base reflected unusual stress in the Red Sea shipping lanes. Once again, the recent falls are all to do with outbound trade from China. Interestingly, Chinese shippers are now targeting Australia and New Zealand, along with the Middle East because of the higher rates they can get in these alternative trades. Bulk cargo rates are little changed week-on-week but are up nearly +20% from a year ago.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.21%, down -3 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,415/oz, up +US$20 from yesterday.American oil prices are little-changed at US$64/bbl with the international Brent price is still just under US$68/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.9 USc and up +30 bps from yesterday at this time. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 90.1 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 50.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 66.4, and up a net +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$112,596 and up +0.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/- 1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news we need to brace for an end to the US Fed's independence. It may not be at risk right now, but the signs aren't promising. And politicians everywhere will seize on the mood to pull that level, to ease their own policies that don't deliver. The juice of monetary stimulus is just too enticing, the risks be damned.First in the US, investors are expecting Nvidia's earnings to be reported after the NYSE closing at 8am NZT, seen as a key test for the AI boom driving markets. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are marginally higher in advance of that, while Nvidia shares are little-changed. But the derivatives market in the stock is set for a -6% swing and if that happens, that will be a -NZ$500 bln fall - probably the biggest movement of any economic metric today anywhere in the world. We will know soon enough.Some think we should also watch the share price in Costco and Walmart. They both have lofty valuations that raise the risk of serious correction. These three are all enormous companies - Nvidia has a market cap of an eye-watering US$4.4 tln, Costco US$420 bln, and Walmart is US$770 bln. In each case that is way more than New Zealand's GDP. Walmart plus Costco is approaching Australia's GDP.Staying in the US there was little data out overnight. The volume of mortgage applications softened by -0.5% last week from the previous week, extending the -1.4% trim from the prior month. Applications to refinance an existing mortgage fell by -3.5% offsetting the +2.2% increase in applications for a mortgage to buy a new home.Separately, American officials are decrying the intelligence efforts by the Chinese Ministry of State Security and their 'Salt Typhoon' operation. But they have been caught running covert operations in Greenland. The Dames are unimpressed. Trump's America is no-one's friend. Even at home, his militarisation of local policing, grabbing shares in companies without paying, are worrying developments. His efforts to subvert the Fed are just part of an effective quiet rolling coup with a much broader agenda. These are stand-over tactics that will undermine the US reputation for generations.In Taiwan, their industry may be going at full tilt, but consumer sentiment is actually weakening. An August survey there shows it at its weakest level since April 2023, as five of six key indicators deteriorated.Chinese industrial profits fell again in July, down -1.7% from a year ago in July. They fell -7.5% for SOE's but were up +1.8% for private businesses.Yesterday, there was a big surprise in data released today in Australia on inflation. Their monthly indicator had fallen consistently to 1.9% in June. The RBA was relieved. But the July level came in at 2.8%, an unexpectedly large jump. There will be head-scratching. Higher electricity prices (+13.1%) are getting the blame.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.24%, down -1 bp from yesterday at this time. Long bond yields, especially the 30 year, are rising more quickly now. The price of gold will start today at US$3,395/oz, up +US$14 from yesterday.American oil prices have risen +50 USc to US$64/bbl with the international Brent price now just under US$68/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.6 USc and little-changed from yesterday at this time. Against the Aussie we are down -30 bps at 90.3 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 50.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.3, and little-changed from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$112,400 and up +2.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news of mixed and confusing economic signals from the world's largest economy where scoring own-goals is becoming an embedded feature of their economic management.But first, there was an overnight Pulse dairy auction for both SMP and WMP and that delivered lower prices with the SMP price dropping -2.0% from the prior week's full dairy auction, and the WMP price down -1.1%In the US, financial markets are quite hesitant because Trump is attempting to fire a non-loyal Fed governor for made-up 'integrity' reasons (pot-kettle-black). Because she in Black, and a woman, Trump's vengeance is particularly pointed.in this case and contrasts starkly with how he treats Powell (which is also personal and isn't good either.) She hasn't been charged with anything let alone convicted, and legal action over the Presidential 'letter' will now follow. She is resisting the bullying. The USD slipped and long dated UST bonds posted losses as market unease spread.Overnight releases of American economic data was quite mixed. First, durable goods orders fell in July from June, down -2.8% and on top of the -9.4% fall in the June result. That takes the year-on-year July result to just a +3.5% rise, about what current inflation can account for. Non-defense, non-aircraft capital goods orders rose a little more than that, up +4.5% from a year ago, so that was positive. But they fell -8.0% in July from June.The Richmond Fed factory survey in the mid-Atlantic states remained negative in August, although not as much as the outsized July retreat. Factories in this region have been doing it tough since March 2025. Cost inflation is hitting them hard as a result of having to pay the tariff taxes. The average growth rate of prices paid increased notably, while growth in prices received was nearly unchanged in August.Yesterday we noted the negative Dallas Fed factory survey for Texas. Today the services survey for the same region was released and it reported a better expansion. But they reported the improvement as 'slight'.There was also only a slight change in consumer sentiment reported by the Conference Board for August. Rising worries about jobs and income were offset by more optimistic views of current and future business conditions, they said. Overall, consumer confidence dipped slightly in August but remained at a level similar to those of the past three months. Tariff-taxes are a key reason there is no improvement in this survey. Consumers' average 12-month inflation expectations picked up after three consecutive months of easing and reached 6.2% in August, up from 5.7% in July.Once rare seven-year car loans are fast becoming the norm in the US. They're often the only way buyers can afford new vehicles, with the average vehicle sale prices surging +28% in five years to approach NZ$85,000. And tariffs will make than much worse. Bloomberg is reporting that in Q2-2025, seven-year vehicle loans represented 21% of all new-vehicle financing. Six-year loans, at one time considered the upper end of the range, are now the most common, accounting for 36%. Some buyers are even now going for eight-year loans.There was a large and well supported two year US Treasury bond auction overnight, resulting in a median yield of 3.60%, down from 3.87% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.North of the border, Canada released some business activity data for July, and both metrics rose and by more than expected. Their wholesale trade was up +1.3% from +0.7% in June, driven by stronger vehicle sales. They manufacturing sales rose +1.8% in July, an improvement from +0.3% in June. Transportation equipment, and the energy sector, provided the key boosts.Across the Pacific in South Korea, you may recall the huge jump in consumer sentiment in July after the peaceful resolution of the attempted executive coup there earlier in the year. The rule of law won. In August, that confidence level dropped sharply as things returned to normal. But to be fair is is still far higher than at any time in the past ten years - despite their ugly treatment by the Trump Administration.In Australia, Australia Post has temporarily partially suspended postal services to the US. All such deliveries now require full customs duties and declarations making the trade impractical for small value items and substantial jeopardy for the shipper. The disruption to such courier services is spreading to most Asian countries now.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.25%, down -3 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3,381/oz, up +US$10 from yesterday.American oil prices have fallen -US$1.50 to US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price now just under US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.6 USc and little-changed from yesterday at this time. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 90.3 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 50.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 66.3, and also little-changed from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$109,747 and down another -2.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.5%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that while much of the northern hemisphere is enjoying the last of their summer holidays, Chinese investors have returned in a bullish mood, and in contrast to the now-jaded US equity markets.But first in the US, consumer credit bureau VantageScore is reporting that consumers with the best credit scores (superprime) are showing meaningful signs of credit stress. Among this group late payments have more than doubled in a year. For the group below that ('prime') this metric of delinquency rose almost +50%. (VantageScore is a partnership of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and competes with the dominant FICO.)Meanwhile, the widely followed Chicago Fed National Activity Index retreated. This tracking suggested overall American economic growth decreased in July.The Dalla Fed said that in its region factory activity is still expanding but at a slower pace. Although new orders rose (and for the first time in 2025), production activity eased back noticeably. Price and wage pressures rose faster.New house sales in the US stayed at an essentially unchanged pace in July, although marginally softer than in June. Prices dipped, likely because they have a continuing glut of new homes for sale, exceeding nine months' worth at the current sales rate.The latest estimate from the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow live tracking is due tomorrow and is likely to reflect the overall slowdown reported in these other indicators.Across the Pacific, Singapore said it basically doesn't have any inflation. Its July survey came in even lower than was anticipated - even food inflation there is very low.Yesterday, we noticed that the Chinese central bank set its Yuan exchange rate with an outsized shift, now at 7.116 to the USD, a 160 bps strengthening from the prior fix. That makes it its strongest against the greenback since October 2024. It is unclear why this happened because the US dollar index was little-changed in this period. Maybe some of this is related to the recent equities euphoria in the Shanghai stock market - its starting to show the frothy signs that Hong Kong has long displayed.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.28%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time. Wall Street has started its week hesitantly, with the S&P500 down -0.3% in Monday trade. Overnight, European markets opened their week mixed with London up +0.1% but Paris down -1.6%. Yesterday Tokyo started its week up +0.4%. Hong King rose a strong +1.9% and Shanghai mirrored that, up +1.5%. Singapore was up a minor +0.1%. That was matched by the ASX200. The NZX50 rose +0.3% in its Monday trade.The price of gold will start today at US$3,371/oz, little-changed (+US$1) from yesterday.American oil prices have risen +US$1 to US$65/bbl with the international Brent price now just under US$69/bbl. And we should also note that China has imported no natural gas from the US since March and no crude oil since June. But the US keeps importing from China, despite the border tariff taxes, which the US importers seem to be paying.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.6 USc and down -10 bps from yesterday at this time. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 90.2 AUc. Against the euro we are up +20 bps at 50.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.3, little-changed from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$112,427 and down -1.7% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest also at just on +/- 1.7%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news Fed boss Powell gave a hint at Jackson Hole that weaker American labour market conditions may trump inflation risks when they next meet in three weeks - and a rate cut is a live possibility.Before that, Thursday NZT, the market darling Nvidia is set to report its results, and any variation from what is expected to be a stellar result, or any slackening of their outlook indications, could very well have ripple impacts on how investors judge their overall current sky-high valuations across the whole equities landscape. It's a huge immediate risk-point.But this coming week, we will be focusing on the New Zealand employment indicators for July to be released later in the week. And later today, the RBNZ will updated it Dashboard to June, so we can see the market winners (and losers) in the banking sector.Across the ditch, all eyes will be on July's monthly CPI data to be released on Wednesday.China will be releasing its August PMIs this week. India will updated its Q2-GDP, and its July industrial production data. And Canada will also have a Q2-GDP update too.But we shouldn't forget that the northern hemisphere has been getting in the last of its summer vacations recently. This is the final week before the US Labor Day national holiday on September 1, 2025, the traditional end of their summer holiday period and when their financial markets build back up to full strength.They will be coming back after digesting the Fed's latest indicators from Powell's Jackson Hole speech. He noted the core US economy has weathered the "sweeping changes in [US] economic policy" well, but now says "the balance of risks appears to be shifting" - to the negative side. Markets have taken this as a hint a rate cut could come as early as their mid September meeting.The US equity markets roared back to post a record high in Friday. The USD fell. Benchmark bond yields retreated.However, in the euphoria of the possibility of a rate cut markets seem to be ignoring this part: "inflation expectations could move up, dragging actual inflation with them. Inflation has been above our target for more than four years and remains a prominent concern for households and businesses". But they are betting on the 'transitory' inflation story again. Inflation embedded for four years, and juiced by tariffs, will be ignored at their peril.Across the border, Canadian retail sales in June were +6.5% higher than a year ago, the best rise since the pandemic recovery period in 2022. But some of this is just higher prices flowing through from their tariff dispute with the US, and a small correction dip is expected in the July data. And the Canadians are not ignoring the inflation risks of tariffs. To keep a lid on these inflationary effects of that dispute, Canada said it will roll back some of its retaliatory tariffs on the US. The US isn't doing the same, so their consumers will still pay the extra on imports.Across the Pacific, China reported more ugly foreign direct investment data over the weekend. While it didn't actually shrink like it did in April and June, it is running -13.4% below year ago levels, and it is still less than half the July ytd levels of 2022 or 2023, and down -7.3% from last year. The June to July gain this year, while welcome, isn't anything more than a statistical blip in the context of the fall away over the last four years.So it is no surprise that Beijing is reorienting to a focus on internal consumption - something they have a chance of still controlling. The international trade environment isn't moving in their favour and even where they do still get gains, they are not enough to move their needle.There was a surprising dip in Japanese inflation in July. It eased to 3.1% from 3.3% in the previous month, the lowest reading since November 2024. Helping was that electricity prices fell for the first time since April 2024. But food prices jumped +7.6%, the most since February. Again, rice was the big culprit.New data out from the Australian statistics bureau shows their R&D investment grew by +18% to AU$24 bln in 2023-24. The strongest growth was in IT including spending on Artificial Intelligence, which grew by +142% since 2021-2022.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.26%, essentially unchanged from Saturday at this time, down -6 bps for the week.Wall Street roared back in Friday trade with the S&P500 up +1.5% after the Powell hint of a rate cut next month. That means it is able to claim a +0.4% advance for the week which pushed it to a new record high.The price of gold will start today at US$3,370/oz, down -US$1 from Saturday, up +US$36 for the week.American oil prices have held at just under US$64/bbl with the international Brent price now just under US$68/bbl. These levels are more than +US$1 higher than a week agoThe Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.7 USc and unchanged from Saturday at this time. Against the Aussie we also holding at 90.4 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged too at 50.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.3, little-changed from Saturday but down -60 bps for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at US$114,366 and down -2.2% from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been very low at just under +/- 0.6%.And finally, in Australia, AML regulator Austrac has directed Binance to appoint an external auditor after identifying serious concerns with the crypto exchange's anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing controls.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the financial world is waiting for Fed boss Powell's Jackson Hole scene setting speech.In the meantime, US initial jobless claims held steady last week from the prior week at +195,000. But in fact seasonal factors should have produced a good fall. So seasonally adjusted, they are reporting an unexpected rise. The number of people on these benefits held at 1.97 mln when they usually retreat at this time of year. Analysts are flagging concerns about the lack of progress. A year ago they fell to 1.86 mln, so they are +110,000 higher now than then.US existing home sales rose, and by more than expected in July and only the second month-on-month gain of 2025. They ran at the rate of 4 mln per year, the best level since February. However, the stock of unsold homes swelled (to 19 weeks of supply), and the latest sales came with the average selling price dropping, now at US$422,400.More generally, around their overnight earnings release, the Walmart CEO noted that tariff-tax price pressure is driving up prices on a weekly basis now. However, they reckon they will get a net benefit as shoppers turn to them from others forced into even higher increases.And the Conference Board's index of leading indicators fell in July, extending its 2025 retreat and at a faster pace in the past six months than the prior six months. Keeping the pressure on this index are the retreats in new orders, and weak consumer sentiment.The Philly Fed's factory survey certainly shows the new order problem which turned negative in August. And firms report that inflation is embedding at higher levels for their input costs. There is a sense that this heartland manufacturing region is starting to go backwards again. Those in this survey 'expect growth' in the future, but they have been signaling that for all of 2025 and if that aspect turns, things will possibly feel a bit grim there.But the early August S&P Global/Markit PMIs for the US are not downbeat. On the factory side, they report a good recovery from July. On the services side a slip from a still-expanding base. They also report faster input inflation as they paid the tariff-taxes.The Canadians also reported rising input costs in their PPI release overnight.Japanese business is on the rise. Business activity across Japan's private sector expanded at the fastest rate since February midway through the third quarter, according to the August PMI survey data. The upturn was supported by a fresh increase in factory production alongside a further solid rise in activity at service providers. Total new business also expanded at the quickest rate in six months, though this was driven solely by the service sector. New export business fell at a steeper rate, however.In China, it is becoming clearer that officials are increasingly worried about strained finances at central and local government agencies, and that both firms and employees are suffering from delayed payments. Apparently, the pressures are severe, warranting President's Xi's attention. Special bond issues are underway to juice up the necessary funding.In Europe, the flash PMI reports indicate an improving situation for both manufacturers, and in the service sector. New orders increased for first time in 15 months in August. The factory PMI rose to expansion and its best in more than three years. Its services sector expanded faster, although like everything in Europe the benchmarks are not high compared to the rest of the world.Overall EU consumer sentiment held at modest levels in August, although to be direct, they are still substantially negative and remain lower than their long-run average.In Australia, the S&P Global/Markit August PMIs are quite upbeat. They said Australia's business activity growth accelerated midway through the third quarter, with faster expansions across both the manufacturing and service sectors. This was supported by higher new work inflows, including a renewed expansion in exports. In turn, Australian private sector firms raised their staffing levels at a faster rate to cope with additional workloads. Business sentiment also improved slightly from July.Australian consumer inflation expectations fell to 3.9% in August from 4.7% in July, easing for the second straight month and marking the lowest level since March.And energy regulator AEMO says more wind, solar and storage capacity was added over the past year to the electricity grid in Queensland, NSW and Victoria than in any year before. The risk of blackouts and service disruptions is fading, they say.Globally, container shipping freight rates fell -4% last week from the prior week to be -60% lower than year-ago levels, although year-ago there was extensive stress from tensions in the Red Sea. All the weakness currently is in outbound cargoes from China. Bulk cargo freight rates fell -5% over the past week, but they are still +10% higher than year-ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.33%, up +4 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,337/oz, down -US$10 from yesterday.American oil prices have risen +US$1 to just under US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price up +US$1 to just over US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.2 USc and down -10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we have held at 90.6 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 50.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 66.2, and up +10 bps helped by a gain against the yen.The bitcoin price starts today at US$114,270 and essentially unchanged from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the US Fed thinks inflation risks outweigh concerns about their labour market.But first. in its familiar yoyo pattern, US mortgage applications fell last week by -1.4% from the prior week, but that makes then +10% higher than the same week a year ago. The softness over the past week is all related to softer refinance activity, even though benchmark 30 year mortgage rates changed little.The US Fed released the minutes of its July meeting and that revealed the stances of the two Trump supporters on th nine-member voting panel. "Almost all" officials supported keeping rates unchanged at 4.25%, with those two dissenting in favour of a quarter-point cut to protect a weakening job market. It seems ironic that they should use that reason, because Trump fired the BLS chief for producing results that showed the American labour market weakening. One of the two, Christopher Waller, is considered the front-runner to replace Powell when his term ends. The two dissenters seem isolated in the group at this time.But that has not stopped Trump supporters making up 'fraud' claims against sitting Fed members in an effort to twist the voting panel.These minutes had no impact on financial markets.There was a well-supported US Treasury 20 year bond tender earlier today that delivered a median yield of 4.82%. That was lower than the 4.89% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.In Canada, a survey of small business owners turned more positive in July - even though their trade association claimed that 38% of them won't last a year without tariff changes.Across the Pacific, Taiwan turned in another very strong rise in export orders, up +15% in July from a year ago. After the +25% rise in June, this remains impressive but is what analysts have now come to expect.In Indonesia, they had a central bank review of their 5.25% policy interest rate yesterday and no change was anticipated. But in fact they cut by -25 bps to 5.00%, the fifth cut over the past year. They are confident inflation will remain contained and are moving to support "the need to stimulate economic growth in line with the economy's capacity".In the UK, their CPI inflation rate rose to 3.8% in July, its highest since January 2024. Driving the rise were cost increases from transport, holidays, food and fuel. These were offset by slower increases in rents (even if they are still rising fast). They have their own twist on the CPI called the CPIH which they emphasise, which adds in owner-occupier housing costs, and that rose 4.2%. That draws in imputed rents, stamp duties, and the cost of maintenance improvements. Either way, they have a sharpish inflation problem.In Australia, AUSTRAC said real estate agents are one of the key to tackling scams, drug trafficking and organised crime. Along with banks and lawyers, real estate agents are going to get more focus on fighting money laundering.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.29%, down -1 bp from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,347/oz, up +US$31 from yesterday.American oil prices have stabilised at just over US$62.50/bbl with the international Brent price up +US$1 to just over US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 58.3 USc and down -70 bps from yesterday following the dovish RBNZ MPS. Against the Aussie we have fallen -80 bps to 90.6 AUc. Against the euro we are down -60 bps at 50 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.1, and down -80 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$114,270 and up +0.7% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just under +/-0.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news commodity prices are taking a hit in global markets today as overall economic prospects are under scrutiny in both the US and China. And Wall Street is following them down, in their case led by tech firms.Prices for both hard and soft commodities are in retreat today, including oil, natural gas, steel, copper, aluminium, wheat, and soybeans. Even bitcoin is falling, down -8.5% over the past week when it hit a recent high note. But not everything.Today's full dairy auction revealed better demand from a wider range of markets than was expected so the declines anticipated were much less, in fact just -0.3% overall. Good buying of WMP and not only from China saw this rise slightly and that limited any overall downside. But there were lower prices for cheese, butter and SMP - lower, but about what was expected for these categories.In the US, housing starts rose a bit more than expected. But the gain was accentuated because July 2024 was unusually weak and that was because for some reason the 2024 bump came in August. Still it was encouraging because analysts had expected a small retreat in July. Still, the general level remains well below the general levels over the prior years. And new building permits were unusually low in July and are now running at their lowest level since June 2020. So the future isn't that bright in this sector.In the rural sector, American farmers are particularly worried about how the Trump Administration is upending their industry, and questions about survivability are arising. Many apparently face bankruptcy.Canadian CPI inflation fell, and by a bit more than expected. It came in at 1.9% in June in a small blip up. It was expected to slip back to a 1.8% rate but in fact came in at 1.7%, the same level it was in April and May. Fuel prices led the decline, but rents rose +3.0% and grocery prices were up +3.4% This will make it tricky for their central bank when they next meet on September 17.Across the Pacific, the top leaders in China have been on vacation and are now starting to return to active front-line duty.Meanwhile, Malaysian exports turned out to be much stronger in July than anticipated. They rose +6.8% in July from the same month a year ago, defying market expectations of a -5% drop. They also revised their June result to be a smaller dip than first reported. Malaysia imports were expected to fall sharply, but in fact held their own.In Australia, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index surged 5.7% in August to its highest since February 2022, after a small rise in July. All components rose: family finances compared to a year ago rose +6.2%, while expectations for the next 12 months climbed +5.4%. Views on the economy improved, with the 12-month outlook up +7.6% and the 5-year outlook rose +5.4%, both above historical norms. The time to buy a major household item index gained +4.2%, while unemployment expectations fell -2.4%, still below the long-run level of 129. Their long spell of consumer pessimism may be ending, though sustaining momentum could require more easing. This survey underscores why the second-term Albanese government is riding ever higher in their polls, and the right-wing opposition parties are in disarray.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.30%, down -4 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,316/oz, down -US$17 from yesterday.American oil prices have fallen -US$1 to be just under US$62.50/bbl with the international Brent price over US$65.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 59 USc and down -20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we have firmed +20 bps to 91.4 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at 50.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 66.9, and down -10 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$113,512 and down -2.6% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.5%.Join us from 2pm NZT this afternoon for full overage of the RBNZ OCR decision and the following press conference.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that attention will now turn to the annual Fed meeting in Jackson Hole, WO. This year Fed boss Powell is not only trying to balance US monetary policy settings between rising inflation pressures and a basically stable (and good) labour market, he also has to contend with a unstable fiscal policies and political pressure, with two and soon to be three voting members who want to appease the "low rate" President. He is earning his keep at present, and this summer forum will be a way for him to make his case.Special attention will be on his comments about rate cut prospects, something markets have mostly priced in for the September 18 meetings. Currently, analysts expect Powell to be coy about his signals for a rate cut.But on the current data front in the US, their housebuilding industry remains quite glum. The NAHB index of sentiment in the sector is near a record low, only worse during one month in the pandemic. And the July retreat was not expected. Builder sentiment has now been in negative territory for 16 consecutive months and their key problem is costs, induced recently by tariff taxes, and keeping new housing basically unaffordable for new buyers.But north of the border, its quite a different situation. Canadian housing starts hit a three year high in July, up +3.7% from June which was also a very strong month. The Canadians are tackling their housing affordability issue with a strong push for more supply. The key gains are with multi-unit housing in Montreal and the Prairie Provinces.It is not something we have reported on before, but India is now releasing monthly unemployment data. Previously it was quarterly and the latest release shows this key metric at 4.2% in July, which is a record low since records started in 1995. Nothing like an expanding economy to pull down the jobless rates.Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell -4.6% year-on-year in July, reversing a downwardly revised +12.9% surge in June and establishing a yoyo pattern. This marked the third decline so far this year and the steepest contraction since October 2024, due to a fall in non-electronic exports, especially to the US (-48%) but also China -12%). Perhaps more worrying, near neighbours Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia all bought significantly less in July.In China, the $2 bln trade in dairy products from the EU to China is under investigation by political authorities as part of pressures China is exerting as countermeasures for EU restrictions on China. Now the Chinese are drawing out the pressure with another extension to the probe, due to "complexity" in the case.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.34%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,333/oz, essentially unchanged from yesterday.American oil prices have firmed slightly to be just under US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price under US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 59.2 USc and unchanged from yesterday. Against the Aussie we have firmed +20 bps to 91.2 AUc. Against the euro we are also up +20 bps at 50.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67, and up +20 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$116,576 and down -1.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news consumer hesitations are showing up the world's largest economies.But first, our week ahead will be dominated by Wednesday's RBNZ OCR rate review, one that is widely expected, by both analysts and financial markets, to deliver a -25 bps cut. That will flow though to floating mortgage and savings rates, but it is far less clear it will affect fixed home loan rates given we have had a full range of cuts last week.In Australia this week it will be all about consumer inflation expectations and consumer sentiment.Elsewhere, in the shadow of northern hemisphere vacations, Canada and Japan will release updated CPI data, and there will be a focus on the US Fed, who with guests, will be huddling in Jackson Hole, WY, again. This time the comments from the two Trump-aligned board members will no doubt hog the limelight.All the while, PMI releases will ground us in the real economy.And in the real economy, Chinese retail sales rose +3.7% in July from a year ago, slowing from a +4.8% expansion in June. Markets were expecting a +4.6% gain in July, so this is a disappointment. This latest result is their weakest growth since December 2024.Meanwhile, China's industrial production expanded by +5.7% in July from a year ago, slowing from June's three-month high of +6.8%. Expectations were for a 5.9% gain so this miss is small. But it is the softest increase in industrial production since last November. That comes after capacity curbs caused by unusually high temperatures and heavy rainfall in some regions.The more important metric of Chinese electricity production saw it rise +3.1% in July from a year ago, a faster expansion than in June. Hydro power was down -9.8% on the same basis, coal power up +4.3%, and nuclear power up +8.3%. The smaller renewals sector's rise was much faster than all of these.And China's new home prices in the 70 major reference cities dropped by -2.8% in July from a year ago, easing from a -3.2% decline in the previous month. It was the 25th consecutive month of contraction, the softest pace since March 2024. Only five of those 70 cities had any increase, and those were all marginal at best. But then again, so were the dips. For resales, there were no cities showing any year-on-year gains and only one (Taiyuan, in Shanxi province) with a monthly gain.Overall, it's a picture of a slightly slowing Chinese economy across all sectors and that will tell Beijing that its stimulus efforts so far are insufficient to keep up with the forces that are dragging it slower. But Beijing is calling the economy 'steady'.And staying in Asia, Malaysia's economy expanded by +4.4% year-on-year in the June quarter, matching the pace in Q1 and slightly below the initial estimate of +4.5%.In the US economy, retail sales rose +0.5% in July from June, as expected and following an upwardly revised 0.9% rise in June. This was largely due to car buying. They are up +3.9% from a year ago but that gain has been falling from the recent +5.1% peak in March. Although tariff-taxes account for most of the gain, overall there is a small real gain here. However without cars, this would look quite negative.In the New York region, they saw a modest rise in business activity in their factories in July based on rising new orders.And that is supported by national industrial output data. While American industrial production edged down -0.1% in July, missing forecasts of a flat reading and following an upwardly revised +0.4% rise in June, the decline was only because the mining sector was weak. Factory output, which makes up about 78% of total industrial production, edged up +0.1% in July, after increasing +0.3% in June. From year-ago levels it is up +1.4%, similar to most of 2025.Not so positive is American consumer sentiment and they don't like what they see ahead. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment August survey fell sharply from July and well below what was expected. It was the first fall in four months, mainly due to growing inflation concerns and sharply worse buying conditions for durable goods. Those surveyed anticipate worsening inflation and unemployment ahead. Overall this survey is more than -13% worse than year ago levels.And in Europe, data released over the weekend shows that Ireland's exports to the US dropped by almost a quarter in June compared to a year ago. Tariffs got the blame. (But they were able to reorient about half of that drop to the UK.)More globally, we should note that international shipping costs are starting to be roiled by the new Trump rule of tariff-extras/extra port fees for Chinese-made ships that dock there that comes into effect in five weeks. That will raise freight costs for Americans, and with extra capacity in other trades, probably bringing lower costs elsewhere.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.33%, up +1 bp from Saturday at this time, up +4 bps for the week.The price of gold will start today at US$3,334/oz, unchanged from Saturday, but down -US$61 for the week.American oil prices have firmed slightly to be just over US$63/bbl with the international Brent price over US$66/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just over 59.2 USc and unchanged from Saturday. But it is down -40 bps from a week ago. Against the Aussie we have dipped -10 bps to 91 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at 50.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 66.8, down -10 bps from Saturday and down -½c for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at US$117,422 and down -0.3% from this time yesterday. But up +0.5% from a week ago. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just under +/-1.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news tariff-costs seem to be having much more impact on US prices than on global trade.But first, US initial jobless claims rose slightly last week to 199,000 but that was slightly lower than seasonal factors would have accounted for. There are now just over 2 mln people on these benefits, +100,000 more than at the same time last year.However, rising much more were producer prices. They are up +3.3% in July from a year ago, a jump from June's +2.4% and much higher than the expected +2.5%. This ends a period where these costs eased since February with a notable reversal. The month-on-month rise was outsized and we make that the largest non-pandemic jump since 2012. This data is having traders re-think their bets on the September 18 US Fed rate review. Currently they expect a -25 bps cut, despite White House pressures. They have two more -25 bps cuts priced in through to january 2026, so maybe some of those could get reassessed. Today's PPI data may signal the tariff-induced inflation is only just starting.In China, they are wrestling - endlessly it seems - with how to staunch the property development sector's bleeding. The latest idea is that Beijing's SOEs but up the unsold housing overhang.India's exports rose in July, but their imports jumped much more so their trade deficit worsened and is much more negative than it was a year ago for the same month.Meanwhile, S&P have upgraded the Indian sovereign credit rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB-' and changed the outlook to stable from positive. It said the upgrade was based on economic resilience and sustained fiscal consolidation. They noted the strong growth momentum, said monetary policy was credible, and added that the impact of Trump's tariffs should be manageableIn Australia, one of their largest superannuation funds failed to tell regulator ASIC about investigations into serious member services issues, including incorrect insurance premium refunds for dead members. This is part of what ASIC is alleging in an Australian Federal Court suit launched yesterday.And staying in Australia, their jobless rate eased to 4.2% in July, down from the four year high of 4.3% in June. The decline was driven by a drop of 10,200 in the number of unemployed, bringing the total to 649,600. Meanwhile, employment rose by +24,500 to a record high of 14.6 mln following a downwardly revised gain of +1,000 in June. Full-time employment rose by +60,500 while part-time positions fell by -35,900. Female participation hit a record high of 63.5%.Global container freight rates fell in a broad shift lower to be down -3% last week from the prior week and down -59% from year ago levels. Those year ago levels were an unusually high benchmark due to Red Sea security factors back then. Bulk freight rates were little-changed over the past week, but are +20% above year ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.28%, up +5 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3,335/oz, down -US$17 from yesterday.American oil prices have risen +US$1.50 to be just under US$64/bbl with the international Brent price up a bit less at US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 59.1 USc and down -60 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 91.1 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at 50.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 66.9, down -40 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$117,741 and down -3.1% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at +/-2.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news of a rare drop in bank lending in China from weak demand.But first up today, we need to report that "due to a technical issue", yesterday's GDT Pulse Auction was cancelled prior to its completion.Meanwhile in the US, and boosted by a very sharp surge in refinance activity, mortgage applications were up more than +10% last week from the week earlier. Refi clients too advantage of a small -10 bps dip in the benchmark interest rate. But applications to finance a new home purchase actually fell last week from the prior week. Still, that is +16% higher than year-ago levels.The Trump Administration is increasingly worried about the outlook for their economy. Tariff costs are choking off expansion. We will get a GDPNow update of economic activity later this week, but it is likely to be quite soft. Now Treasury Secretary Bessent is calling for a -150 bps rate cut by the Fed to counter the expected decline, and telling them to ignore the building inflation.In Japan, machine tool orders rose +3.6% in July driven by stronger export orders.In China, there has been an unexpected surprise in the release of their bank lending data for July released overnight. It actually fell for the first time in more than twenty years. It fell -¥50 bln in July from the prior month. A +¥300 bln increase was expected. July is often a shadow month after the quarter end, but actual declines are almost unheard of in the modern era. Overall social funding rose, but that is bolstered ny economic support measures. That commercial firms are borrowing less is undoubtedly not a trend Beijing wants to see.The slowdown domestically, and severe overcapacity has seen Chinese steel products dumped in international markets. More countries like Japan and South Korea are considering anti-dumping actions against Chinese steel, while India has several probes underway. Chile has imposed temporary anti-dumping tariffs to protect its steel industry. These moves come after the US and Canada imposed their restrictions. These actions against Chinese steel will no doubt get more strident unless China removes a meaningful proportion of its overcapacity.That makes Australia vulnerable.Australia imports a significant amount of steel from China (more than AU$4 bln/year), with structural steel being a major category. And this is rising and a threat to local steel mills. Australia is in a tough spot dealing with China on the issue because their iron ore exports are the main Australian advantage (about AU$100 bls/year). And quality is another advantage of local steel products. There are rising concerns about the quality and compliance with Australian standards of some imported Chinese steel products.New owner-occupier loan values in Australia were up +7.2% in June from the same quarter in 2024. But the number of new loans was up only +0.2% on the same basis. This reflects the frothy housing markets in many state capital cities. The biggest value increases were for owner-occupiers who weren't first home buyers with these loan values up +9.8%. Volumes for that group were up+1.0%. First home buyers in Australia are the weakest borrowers, largely shut out of their housing markets.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.24%, down -5 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,353/oz, up +US$6 from yesterday.American oil prices have fallen another -US$1 to be just under US$62.50/bbl with the international Brent price now at US$65.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 59.7 USc and up +10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are also up +10 bps at 91.3 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at 51 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.3, up +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price started today at US$121,559 and up +1.9% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at +/-1.3%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news inflation is staying high in the US but retreating in India and Australia.The US CPI inflation rate remained at 2.7% in July, the same as in June and below forecasts of 2.8%. Still it is worth noting that June's level caused Trump to fire the bearer of that news. But the level has been held anyway. Food prices also were steady at +2.9%. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, accelerated to a five-month high of 3.1%, compared to 2.9% in June and above forecasts of 3%. The monthly core CPI went up +0.3% as expected, its sharpest rise in six months.Apparently, importers were still absorbing most of the border tariff taxes.The new head of the agency responsible for this data (a Heritage Foundation official) has suggested they stop publishing monthly jobs data, especially for jobs, until "errors can be corrected". (Code for, what the White House wants.)What today's inflation data means for a Fed rate cut is still uncertain - for some. Equity markets are betting this "as expected" result will allow one and their bets are now 90% certain a cut will come on September 18 (NZT). Bond markets are a bit more sceptical. Currency markets remain bearish on the USD.Record expected corn production in the US, and closing international appetites for politicised trade uncertainties brought a swift fall in corn prices. The same USDA WASDE report says beef prices are rising in lower tariff-induced imports from Brazil and lower domestic production. US milk prices are little-changed but they expect to import more SMP.The US NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose in July from June but it still not back to levels of earlier in the year. This latest rise is all about current outcomes rather than future conditions. The uncertainty subcategory was still high and rising.The US government posted a -US$291 bln budget deficit in July, despite a +US$21 bln boost in border tariff collections from importers, as spending outpaced revenues. The shortfall was US$47 bln larger than a year earlier, with receipts rising +2% to US$338 bln but outlays jumping +10% to a record US$630 bln for the month. The unexpected worsening seems to have been ignored by equity markets who 'liked' the inflation result.But the bond market is bracing for the impact of an additional US$500 bln in Treasury Bond issuance over the next six months. Benchmark yields rose.In Canada, a sharper than expected fall in Vancouver multi-unit house building permits, along with a sharper than expected fall in Toronto commercial building, has seen the Canadian building permit levels in June retreat much more sharply than expected. This retreat comes after an unusually strong gain in May however.In India, CPI inflation is retreating rapidly now, coming in in July at only 1.6% fron a year ago. In June it rose 2.1%. The July level is almost as low as the all-time low of 1.5% in June eight years ago. In the latest data, food prices deflated -1.8% and this was by far the major reason for the overall easing. The result is now well below the RBI inflation tolerance band of 2-6% so official rate cutting may come into play. But arguing against that is the record weakness on the Indian rupee.In Germany, ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment fell back for the first time in four months, mainly on the disappointing outcomes in the EU-US tariff 'negotiations'. But overall sentiment remain relatively high there in a long term perspective.In Australia, and in a unanimous decision, the nine member Reserve Bank of Australia Monetary Policy Board has cut its cash rate target by -25 bps to 3.60%, saying a further easing of monetary policy is appropriate after a pause at its last review in July. Most banks announced they would pass it on in full to home loan borrowers. Lower inflation tracks are behind the official rate cut.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.29%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3,347/oz, down -US$7 from yesterday.American oil prices have softened -50 USc to be just under US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price now at US$66/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just under 59.6 USc and up +20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 91.2 AUc. Against the euro we are down -10 bps at 51 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.2, unchanged from yesterday.The bitcoin price started today at US$119*,329 and down -0.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at +/-0.7%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the US is deploying new shakedown tactics on its exporters to give some favoured tech companies tariff and national security export relief - if they pay.However first, China's vehicle sales were up almost 15% in July from a year ago, following a nearly +14% rise in June. That means they sold 2.6 mln units in July. The sales pace is running far higher in 2025 than the record pace in 2024, but the really large sales months don't come until late in the second half of the year. Sales of new energy vehicles surged 27% year-on-year to more than 1.25 mln units in July, accounting for nearly half of all new car sales and marking the fifth consecutive monthly increase.Hong Kong listed Chinese property developer, China South City Holdings, has been suspended after a Hong Kong court ordered its winding up. That ends a years-long process of attempting to survive through reorganisation and emphasises how tough the Chinese property development market is still.In India, there are reports their central bank is in the markets supporting the falling rupee. So far they have spent US$5 bln on the operation to no obvious impact, although it may have helped slow the devaluation.In the US, the Federal Government is finding new ways to tax. First it was tariffs (import taxes), now it is export taxes. It is extracting 15% from chip sales, starting with exports to China. These shakedown of corporate America come with waiving tariffs or national security export restrictions, giving the company advantages over its rivals. Very Soprano. It is a habit sure to spread, ushering in a period of hyper crony-capitalism - one that may be indistinguishable from capitalism-with-Chinese-characteristics. The Chinese at least are trying to wean themselves off the habit, because it led them nowhere.Tomorrow, the US will release its CPI data. And after the firing of its agency head last month because Trump didn't like the result, this will draw special scrutiny, especially as tariff costs are increasingly being passed on. The key reaction to watch will be how TIPS bonds are prices (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities). The CPI rate is the basis for these yields and it they are going to be artificially interfered with, investors may sell down this US$2.1 tln bond market corner. If that happens, we will all notice. Markets expect the 2.7% CPI rate in June (the one Trump didn't like) to rise to 2.8%, and the core rate to hit 3% - for the first time in five months and calling an end to the disinflation cycle and the start of re-inflation.Later today we get the RBA's latest rate decision. It almost certainly will announce a cut of -25 bps to 3.60%. And before that the wide-watched NAB business sentiment survey will be released. It isn't expected to show much change from the modestly positive readings.And as important as today's announcements will be, don't forget tomorrow CBA will release its annual 2025 results to June. And they are widely expected to be a record exceeding AU$10 bln. It is ranked in the mid 40s on an assets basis, but it is one of the worlds most profitable.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.26%, down -2 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3,354/oz, down -US$44 from yesterday.American oil prices have firmed +50 USc to be just under US$64/bbl with the international Brent price now at US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at 59.3 USc and down -20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are also down -20 bps at 91.1 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 51.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.2, down -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price started today at US$119,552 and up +0.8% from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at +/-1.7%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news geopolitics will suck up all the headlines this week, but we will focus on how the world's economies are faring.This coming week will have a focus on Australia, and the RBA's Tuesday cash rate target review. "Everyone" expects them to cut by -25 bps to 3.60% - the more so because they skipped the expected cut at their July 9 review. There will be interest in the NAB business sentiment report this week tooIn the US, the economic focus will be on CPI, PPI, retail sales and industrial production data. Market analysts aren't expecting to see much expansion and are expecting to see higher inflation. There will also be another consumer sentiment survey released this week too.In Europe it will be all about GDP and sentiment updates. In Japan, we get to learn their Q2 GDP result. In India the focus will be on inflation updates.In China there will be some big data released including for industrial production, retail sales, and new bank lending.Over the weekend China released its July CPI data. It rose +0.4% from June, to be unchanged from a year ago. They are being suppressed by Beijing's subsidy programs. Food prices fell marginally in the month to be -1.0% lower than a year ago. Beef prices however rose +3.6% on that annual basis, sheepmeat prices fell -1.4%, and milk was down -1.3%.Meanwhile overall producer prices deflated quicker, down -3.6% from a year ago. Producer purchase prices were down -4.5%, taking it to almost three years of continuous monthly declines. That's serious deflation.More globally, the July world food price index inched higher, but that masks record higher prices for meat proteins. And those were driven by beef and sheep prices. Dairy prices eased back from June but only slightly and they remain very near record levels.Canada released its July labour market report over the weekend showing 1.6 mln people unemployed for a jobless rate of 6.9%. That's high even if it is stable, and the number of people employed fell by -40,800, with a drop of -51,000 in full-time jobs and a rise of +10,000 in part-time jobs. The decline was mostly among 15-24 year olds. Markets had expected overall employment to rise by +13,000.In Japan, June data for household spending rose +1.3% from the same month a year ago, down sharply from a +4.7% increase in May. Forecasts were for a +2.6% rise. Households were worried about the impact of US tariffs and persistent inflation on consumer activity. On a monthly basis, spending plunged -5.2% in June from May, reversing May's +4.6% rise and undershooting expectations of a -3% correction.And staying with Japan, they agreed with the US on a 15% "reciprocal" tariff. But Trump issued an executive order to charge 25% in a pique of retribution for slights no-one can quite understand. The Japanese have called them out on it, insisting they honour the negotiated deal. Now Bessent and Lutnick have agreed to not only correct the "administrative mistake" but refund the capricious tariff charges. The Japanese are back with the same deal as the EU has.Taiwan's export performance continues to astound. Exports from the island nation surged +42% in July from a year ago to a record US$56.7 bln, following the +34% increase in June. They were expecting 'only' a +29% rise on this basis. by any measure this strength is quite remarkable. It is all built on electronics. Taiwanese imports were up +21% on the same basis.In the US the appointment of Stephen Miran to fill a temporary vacancy as a board member of the US Federal Reserve adds in a protectionist sceptic to the voting mix. He is no fan of central bank independence. But oddly he has railed against the 'revolving door' of its members moving between Whitehouse/Treasury positions and the Fed governorships. He has now become exhibit A.An global reinsurer SwissRe says 2025 is shaping up to incur weather and climate losses exceeding US$150 bln, after a record $80 bln in the first half. That would make it its costliest year since 2011 (when the NZ and Japanese earthquakes occurred), but by far the costliest for just climate impacts.We should also note an AFR report that French dairy giant Lactalis, is the leading bidder for Fonterra's Mainland business after being granted exclusivity to negotiate for a buyout. They got the nod with a price rumoured to be something less than $4 bln.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.28%, down -1 bp from Saturday and up +6 bps for the week.The price of gold will start today at US$3,398/oz, up US$3 from Saturday. But that has built to a +US$51 gain for the week, or up +1.5%. The uncertainties swirling around the new US tariff ruling are flowing through the New York gold price. Meanwhile the White House called the news 'misinformation' even though their agency had published to tariff ruling.American oil prices have slipped back again, down -50 USc to be just under US$63.50/bbl with the international Brent price down at just over US$66/bbl. These are more than -US$3.50 lower than week-ago levels.The Kiwi dollar is at 59.5 USc and down -10 bps from Saturday, up +½c from a week ago. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 91.3 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 51.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.3, unchanged from Saturday and up +20 bps from this time last week.The bitcoin price started today at US$118,561 and up +1.5% from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/-1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with we are ending the week with Wall Street not finding much to like about future trade prospects, especially as policy shifts seem to be highly chaotic and involve personal retributions.US initial jobless claims rose last week to +195,000 when seasonal factors indicated it would fall. There are now just over 2 mln people claiming these benefits. This time last year there was just over 1.9 mln, a rise of +99,000.American consumer inflation expectations for the year ahead rose to 3.1% in July from 3% in June. This was held back only because of the widespread perception that petrol prices would fall. The median year-ahead expected change in food prices remained unchanged at 5.5%. Looking further ahead inflation expectations in fives rose to 2.9% from 2.6%.Meanwhile Q2 American labour productivity improved in data released today. It rose by 2.4% in the quarter following a revised -1.8% drop in the prior period. Analysts expected a +2% increase. Output increased by 3.7% (vs -0.6% in Q1) and hours worked increased by 1.3% (vs 1.2%).The US agricultural sector used to be a powerhouse export driver. But no more. Data released yesterday shows it has turned into a net importer, a trend that started in 2018 in the first Trump presidency. The first half of 2025 has now recorded its largest deficit on record, mainly on stuttering exports.Meanwhile, American consumer credit rose in June but only modestly. Total consumer credit rose by just +US$7.4 bln in the month, up from a +US$5.1 bln in May. These are minor changes and don't indicate any impending credit stress.Across the Atlantic in a tighter than expected vote, the Bank of England cut its policy rate by -25 bps to 4.0%. They have inflation running at 3.6% with a target of 2%. Five of the nine voting members voted for the cut, four wanted no-change. This was much closer than the 7:2 vote expected.In China, they are not only subsidising trade-in programs to help juice their domestic economy, now they are subsidising interest rates on personal loans. Consumer credit has not been traditionally popular in China, but young people are signing up much more freely. It is a sector that may grow to hold financial stability risks.Standard & Poor's have affirmed China's sovereign credit rating at A+ Stable. China's government gets a AAA rating from its own domestic ratings agencies, but Beijing was pleased anyway with the S&P result.Container freight rates fell -3% last week from the week before to be -58% lower than year-ago levels, although to be fair those were an unusual peak. Outbound from China was again the main weakness although outbound from the US is now showing up as a weakening trade too - and that starts with very low rates anyway. Bulk cargo rates were essentially unchanged over the past week and are now +18% higher than a year ago.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.25%, up +3 bps from yesterday. The price of gold will start today at US$3,391/oz, up US$17 from yesterday.American oil prices have slipped back again, down another -US$1 to just on US$64/bbl with the international Brent price down at just over US$66.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at 59.5 USc and up +10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 91.5 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 51.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.3, up +20 bps.The bitcoin price started today at US$116,442 and up +0.8% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news in search of short-term riches, the Cook Islands is establishing itself as a haven base for deep sea mining, it be used by both great powers.But first, American mortgage applications rose last week with a modest +3.1% gain from the prior week attributed to a small fall in benchmark mortgage interest rates. It was the stronger +5% refinance activity that drove the modest gain rather than new home purchases.Those benchmark rates may keep falling. There was slightly softer demand for the latest overnight US Treasury 10yr Note auction, but the resulting median yield came in at 4.20%, down from 4.31% at the prior equivalent event a month ago. However the yield is up on more recent levels.Separately, the NY Fed monitoring of global supply chain pressure eased again in July.In Canada, they are seeing residential real estate markets operating like we see here. For example Toronto sales transactions are rising (+13% in July from a year ago), but prices falling (-5.4% on the same basis).The Reserve Bank of India kept its key policy rate at 5.50% during its August meeting, now holding a neutral stance, following a larger-than-expected -50 bps decrease in June. There were no surprises here and the rate remains at its lowest level since August 2022. Easing inflation and the recent US tariff challenges were key considerations.Meanwhile, the US has doubled its tariffs on India to 50% as 'punishment' for buying Russian oil. Interestingly it has boosted Modi's standing at home in India and brought bi-partisan support for him in resisting the US.In China, they have brought in a ¥3,600 yuan (NZ$845) per year child care subsidy for under threes, designed to boost household consumption and ease pressure on family budgets. Encouraging childbirth is probably the core motivation for this subsidy. It is just another is a broadening range of consumer subsidies China is rolling out to support its economy and build domestic demand.EU retail sales volumes impressed in an overnight data release for June. They were up +3.1% on a volume basis, the best increase since September 2024. German gains were particularly strong, up +4.8% on the same volume basis.But new German factory orders again disappointed in June, down -1.0% in volume terms. Although this was twisted by some lumpy 'large' orders. Excluding those, the change is a gain of +0.5% in volume terms. (Large-scale items include aircraft, ships, trains, military vehicles).Australia said living costs rose for all type of households in June. Over the past year, all LCIs rose between +1.7% and +3.1%, slowing from annual rises of between +2.4% and +3.5% to the March 2025 quarter. In the South Pacific, the Cook Islands is becoming a renegade state. Its deal with China allows the Chinese to use it as a base for deep sea mining. Now the US is keen to use it in the same way. These great powers see “one of the most promising regions for deep-sea mineral deposits.” These nations are keen to plunder as far away from themselves as possible.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.22%, up +2 bps from yesterday. The price of gold will start today at US$3,374/oz, down -US$5 from yesterday.American oil prices have slipped back again, down another -50 USc to just under US$65/bbl with the international Brent price holding at just over US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at 59.4 USc and up +40 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 91.3 AUc. Against the euro we are also unchanged at 51 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.1, up +20 bps.The bitcoin price started today at US$115,465 and up +1.6% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just under +/-0.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the equity markets and the bond markets are flashing quite different signals, and equity markets seem quite out of step with the operating economic data. When these vary, there is usually a reckoning, and that usually (but not always) results in an equity correction.But first up today, the overnight dairy auction brought results similar to what the derivatives market expected, maybe slightly better because of show early season strength in WMP demand and prices. Volumes sold were the highest since October 2024. And helping the tone was the fall in the NZD which boosted the rise in local currency. Overall the event ended up +0.7% in USD and up +1.5% in NZD. The industry will be satisfied the new season is off to a good start.On the butter demand front, there was a noted fall off in demand at these prices - except frim China and Middle East buyers. There is enough there to keep prices elevated, although to be fair the butter price did ease +3.8% at this event.Meanwhile, the widely watched American ISM services PMI unexpectedly fell in July 2025 from June, and the result was lower than expected. The services sector is now nearly stagnant, with seasonal and weather factors having a negative impact on business. A slowdown was most evident in the fall in new orders - activity is still operating faster than new orders are arriving so that is not great for the future. Not slowing are price increases, so all the signs of stagflation here. However, the internationally-benchmarked S&P Global/Markit version told a more upbeat story.US exports fell in June from May but the fall was only minor, and from a year ago there were up +3.3%. US imports fell more sharply in the month to be -1.4% below year-ago levels. But that only results in their trade deficit being back to mif 2024 levels. Or 2023 levels. The needle has moved very little.But the RCM/TIPP sentiment survey rose in July although the move was minor. It mirrored the month's equity markets and this index also hit a 4 year high.American household debt rose by +US$185 bln in the June quarter to a new record high of US$18.4 tln. That is now 60.6% of GDP. The flow of household debt into serious delinquency was mixed across debt types, with credit card and car loans holding steady, student loans continuing to rise, and mortgages edging up slightly.In India, their services PMI tells a booming story. International orders and overall sales rose sharply from the fastest increase in business activity for 11 months. However, price pressures re-accelerated, so this boom comes with inflation consequences. It's a report in sharp contrast to the lackluster American equivalents. "Someone" is quite envious of their success and is threatening sharply higher tariffs.Meanwhile Trump is signaling that their endless 'truce' with China will get another extension.And China delivered a positive data surprise yesterday, with the private Caixin services PMI rising and by more than expected. (Remember the official NBS services PMI eased lower.) The Caixin China General Services PMI rose in July from June's nine-month low with the fastest expansion in the services sector since May 2024, and with new business growing at the strongest pace in a year.That is in contrast to the EU services PMI which remains weak, although it is still expanding.Quarterly June data out today in Australia shows household spending rose at a good rate, up +5.1% from the same month a year ago - and the rate it rose from March was good too. Discretionary spending was strong. Western Australia was the only jurisdiction where spending fell. On a volume basis (after inflation's impact), it is up +0.7%.Join us at 10:45am for the New Zealand labour market report for June, although it might just confirm the tough operating environment we are in.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.20%, up +1 bp from yesterday. The price of gold will start today at US$3,379/oz, up +US$7 from yesterday.American oil prices have slipped back again, down another -US$1 to just under US$65.50/bbl with the international Brent price just over US$67.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at 59 USc and little-changed from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -30 bps at 91.3 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 51 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 66.9, down -10 bps.The bitcoin price started today at US$113,625 and down -1.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news tough economic news keeps coming, even during this lazy August vacation period in the northern hemisphere.First, in the US factory orders were expected to retreat in June, consistent with the labour market and PMI signals - and they did. They were down -4.8% from May, although they are still up +6.6% from a year ago. The June falls were largely driven by a -22% plunge in transportation equipment orders. This same data confirmed the earlier durable goods order decrease in June of -9.4%.We are awaiting important services PMIs for July and they are expected to be much better than those for their factory sector.American economic uncertainty is now well embedded in consumer behaviour. Some brands are really suffering, and causing large writedowns.Meanwhile, American vehicle sales rose in July to an annualised rate of 16.4 mln, slightly more than expected because they got a boost ahead of expected price increases from the August 1 tariff-taxes. But the boost was relatively minor, just +3.6% ahead of the same level in July 2024.In China, parts of the country are battling heavier-than-usual rainfall. And that includes Beijing itself, a city of 22 mln. Dozens of people have died in flooding already. They are expecting 200 mm of rain to fall over the next 24 hours, on top of what they have had which created their emergency. Beijing's normal annual rainfall is 600 mm.In Australia, the Melbourne Institute's inflation gauge survey result brought an unwelcome surprise. It surged +0.9% in July, the steepest rise since December 2023 and a sharp rebound from June's modest +0.1% increase. The RBA is unlikely to be impressed because even if inflation is within range it seems to be testing the upper end of that range and a rate cut could well push it up out-of-range. Still, financial markets are pricing in a full -25 bps cut for Tuesday, August 12 when the RBA next meets. And they have priced in two more by the end of 2025. At this time, given inflation is proving harder to lick, that seems unlikely. And in turn there could be many disappointed market traders - and mortgage holders - as the year unfolds.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.19%, down -3 bps from yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$3,372/oz, up +US$10 from yesterday.American oil prices have slipped back again, down -US$1 to just under US$66.50/bbl with the international Brent price just over US$68.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at 59 USc and down -20 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 91.4 AUc. Against the euro we are also down -10 bps at 51 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67, down -10 bps as well.The bitcoin price started today at US$115,217 and up +0.9% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low again at just under +/-0.7%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news US President Trump is "making progress" is bending independent agencies (BLS, the US Fed) to respond to what is best for him, rather than the US economy.But the week ahead will all be focused locally on Wednesdays Household Labour Force survey results for July. Our jobless rate is expected to rise to 5.3% from 5.1% in June (and May). That would make it its highest since 2016 and exceeding anything we had in the pandemic period.Elsewhere the week will feature a raft of PMI and factory order releases. Plus, China will release key trade and inflation data.But the big economic driver for the week will be market reactions to Trump's tariff-war moves and his drive to bend both the Fed and the economic data agencies in the US to show fealty to him and avoid any negative reports. On Friday they sensed all this isn't good for the US economy and turned sharply risk averse even though corporate earnings reports have stayed positive.And that was because of Trump's response to official data he didn't like. He moved to fire the head of the data agency who reported it.Then a voting Fed official resigned, giving him a chance to twist more independence out of this crucial institution.The release of the July US labour market report showed the headline jobs gain was only +73,000 when +110,000 was expected. But worse, the June data was revised sharply lower to just +14,000 from the original +147,000. Their jobless rate edged higher to 4.2%. The number of people unemployed for at least 27 weeks has topped 1.8 mln now, the highest since the pandemic. Wage growth for the low-paid was unusually weak. This is a huge miss and there were sharp financial market reactions.Those are the seasonally adjusted numbers. The actual numbers are much worse, down -1,066,000 in July from June. To be fair much of that actual shrinkage is seasonal, but at 159.3 mln people employed, that is lower than in November 2024 when Trump won office.But with this July stumble in their labour market, it will be no surprise to know that the ISM factory PMI shows the same sharp retreat. In June this PMI was contracting with a 49.0 index level. It was expected to improve to a smaller contraction of 49.5. (An index level of 50 is the fulcrum between expansion and contraction.) But it went the other way, deepening its contraction to 48.0. Driving the retreat were new orders and order backlogs contracting, along with input costs increasing and exports falling. Overall, this is reporting their factory sector is contracting faster. (The internationally benchmarked S&P Global/Markit factory PMI version also reported a sharp drop info contraction in July, also largely on stagnating new order levels.)In China, like the official China factory PMIs had signaled, the independent Caixin PMI also signaled that their factory sector went backwards in July too. The Caixin survey isn't as negative as the official survey, but it now shows the overall sector in contraction. The Caixin survey tends to account better for mid-sized private manufacturers whereas the official survey includes the very large state-owned enterprises.China recognises the need to do more to stimulate internal consumption, and they are now committed to using subsidies as a key tool. Essentially they are subsidising trade-in prices to generate sales of new items. The target is to raise this subsidy level to ¥300 bln in 2025. On Friday they announced another ¥69 bln in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued for this purpose, the fourth tranche in the program.Another policy action announced on Friday involves their war on "involution", which they take to mean excessive or irresponsible competition involving a general race to the bottom. It was a feature of their housing crisis, and is a big worry for their car manufacturing industry. Top-down pressure to rein in this sort of behaviour is intense now. In fact, BYD is now indicating their production levels will be lower in future.However in Japan, Toyota has told suppliers that it aims to boost 2025 global production to about 10 million vehicles, underpinned by strong sales of hybrids despite concerns over the impact of American tariffs. (In the US, carmaker Ford is noting that tariffs are not helping them.)In Singapore, the latest PMI readings painted a mixed manufacturing outlook with the electronics sector in continued expansion whereas the overall manufacturing sector reverted to a marginal contraction. Declining now order levels caused the shift.In India, the growth of factory orders and production strengthened in July, driving their factory PMI up to an impressive 59.1, although that was a touch less than the result expected. Indian factories are easily the star of the show on a global basis.The EU released its July inflation data on Friday, and there were no surprises there with inflation stable at 2.0% in the Euro area. The overall level is still being restrained by falls in energy costs.Australian producer prices rose 3.4% over the past year to June, down from a 3.7% rate in the year to March, and down from a 4.8% rate in the year to June 2024. Cost pressures are still high, but they are easing, even if slowly.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.22%, up +1 bps from Saturday, down -18 bps for the week.The price of gold will start today at US$3,362/oz, up +US$14 from Saturday.American oil prices have slipped back again, now just over US$67/bbl with the international Brent price holding at US$69.50/bbl. A week ago these prices were US$65 and US$68.50/bbl. OPEC has agreed a big increase in oil production. And we should probably note another fall in North American oil rigs in action, now down to their lowest level since September 2021.The Kiwi dollar is at 59.2 USc and up +20 bps from Saturday but down nearly -1c from a week ago. Over all of July the fall was -180 bps. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 91.5 AUc. Against the euro we are down -40 bps at 51.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.1, unchanged from Saturday, down -60 bps for the weekThe bitcoin price started today at US$114,109 and up +0.8% from this time Saturday, but down -2.0% from a week ago. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just under +/-1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news today is the day the US has promised to levy arbitrary tariffs but still no word about how Australia and New Zealand will fare. It's not the end of August 1 until later tomorrow in the US. In the meantime, Mexico has been the latest country to be granted a 90 day extension.Meanwhile, initial US jobless claims fell to 193,100 in the fourth week of July, just marginally more than seasonal factors would have accounted for. There are now 2.016 mln people on these benefits, +82,000 more than the 1.934 mln in the same week a year ago.US-based employers announced 62,075 job cuts in July, up +29% from June's 47,999 and up +140% from 25,885 announced in the same month last year. July's job cuts were also well above average for a July month since the pandemic.The US PCE price index rose +0.3% in June from May, the largest increase in four months, following an upwardly revised +0.2% gain in May. Prices for goods were up +0.4%, and prices for services rose +0.2%. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy, also went up +0.3%, also its strongest monthly gain in four months. Year on year, the PCE was up +2.6%, the core PCE up +2.8%. With more broad tariffs ahead, plus firms now far less willing to absorb these burdens, the future track of US inflation looks like it has only upside.Personal disposable incomes rose +1.7% from June a year ago in the US, personal spending was up +2.1%.In the industrial heartland, the Chicago PMI contracted much less in July, after a good rise in new order levels. But it is still contracting, only slower.Canada may be being disrespected by its bully southern neighbour via tariff threats and economic pressure, but its economy is showing remarkable resilience. In May, their GDP eased just -0.1% while in June it rose +0.1%. This is a far better result for them than they may have expected given the taunts and penalties they have had to absorb. Unlike Mexico, they aren't getting any delay in US tariff changes.As expected, the Bank of Japan held its policy rate unchanged yesterday at 0.5%. The decision was unanimous, reflecting the central bank's cautious approach to policy normalisation.Japanese industrial production surged in June, and in a quite unexpected way. Year-on-year it was up +4.0%, month-on-month up +1.7%. A small retreat was expected.The official July PMIs for China were released yesterday, showing their factory sector contracting at a faster rate and their service sector expansion all but evaporating. These results are not disastrous, but they will worry Beijing all the same. The vibrancy they recently re-found isn't lasting.There were some very positive Australian retail trade data released yesterday. And oddly, this is the final data released for retail sales as they shift to their "Monthly household spending indicator" series. The final data for retail trade brought a +4.9% year-on-year burst in value terms, +1.5% in volume terms. These levels were far better than any analyst was expecting. The contrast with New Zealand is rather stark.There was a marked slowing in the growth of air travel in June, up +2.6% in June and half the +5.1% rise in the same month a year ago. The North American market was flat, but the Asia Pacific international market rose +7.2% and an outsized gain.The June air cargo market expanded little overall, up +0.8% from a year ago. But that was because of a sharp retreat in cargo volumes in North America (down -8.3% for domestic cargoes, down -6.1% in international cargoes). Elsewhere international cargo volumes rose +1.6% and Asia Pacific volumes were up +8.3%.Container freight rates were little changed last week (-1%) with outbound rates from China the weakest segment. From a year ago these rates are now -56% lower although to be fair they were unusually high a year ago on Red Sea security problems. Bulk freight rates fell -5.3% over past week from the prior week to be +13% higher than year-ago levels.It's probably worth noting that after the large fall in the copper price we noted yesterday, there has been no bounce - it is still falling.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.36%, down -1 bp from yesterday. The price of gold will start today at US$3,294/oz, up +US$17 from yesterday.American oil prices have slipped back -US$1.50 at just on US$69/bbl with the international Brent price is now at just on US$71.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar was at 58.9 USc and and unchanged from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 91.7 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 51.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.4, up +20 bps from yesterday helped by a rise against the yen which fell back after their central bank meeting.The bitcoin price started today at US$117,775 and essentially unchanged again (+US$9) from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at +/-1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news a no-change Fed has brought sharp market reactions, bolstered by an odd tariff twist.As expected, the US central bank left its key policy rates unchanged at the 4.25%–4.50% target range for a fifth consecutive meeting. They see the data pointing to 'a moderation in economic activity' during the first half of the year, contrasting with earlier assessments that growth was proceeding 'at a solid pace'. They noted that the unemployment rate remains low while inflation remains elevated, and uncertainty about the economic outlook persists. The vote was 9-2 with both dissenters wanting a lower rate and both wanting to be chosen by Trump to replace Powell.Markets are still digesting the Fed signals, but immediately after the US dollar rose although not significantly, the UST 10yr yield was little-changed initially then rose but only slightly, and the S&P500 rose but then equally quickly gave that bump up to now be lower. Gold kept falling. Bitcoin yawned, holding in the unchanged level it has had for the past three weeks. But then it woke up and fell out of that range, down -1.3%.Although US home loan interest rates were unchanged last week, mortgage applications fell, both for refinancing and for new purchases. And the June pending home sales report also out today paints a worrying picture for their housing sector with sales -2.8% lower from a year ago. Eight of the last twelve months have recorded year-on-year decreases.The July labour market report will be released on Saturday (NZT) and is expected to record a modest +110,000 jobs growth. Today the precursor ADP Employment Report was released suggesting private payrolls grew +104,000. (This ADP report is a good tracker of the non-farm payrolls report over the longer term, but not so reliable for any current month.)The first look at the Q2-2025 US GDP growth rate is out, showing a +3.0% rise, and better than the expected +2.4% result. But almost all of this is due to rising imports (+5%). Consumer spending contributed less than +1%. Investment activity was -3% negative in this result. Public spending and exports both made almost zero contribution. Although +3% is 'good' it is an unhealthy twist although that may not last. Of more concern is the dive in investment.North of the border, the Canadian central bank also reviewed its monetary policy position overnight, and it too held its rate unchanged at 2.75%.In the EU, the July sentiment surveys were out for the bloc and while they 'improved' in fact they remain in their long term range. So essentially, no change.In Singapore, their central bank equivalent, the Monetary Authority of Singapore kept its policy stance unchanged in yesterday's update.In Australia, and led by a fall in services inflation, overall CPI inflation dropped to 2.1% in Q2 2025 from 2.4% in the prior two periods, marking its lowest figure since Q1 2021 and below forecasts of 2.2%. June inflation alone was only +1.9% above year ago levels. Today's data removes any awkwardness posed by inflation remaining too high for the RBA and they are now very much more likely to cut by -25 bps on August 12 to 3.60%.On the tariff-war front, the US has imposed a 50% tariff on copper imported into the US - but then made a bewildering exception, for refined copper. Traders had been stockpiling copper ahead of this decision but weren't expecting the exception. So there is far more refined copper in the US than they need at a cost they don't need. It has caused havoc in the copper price overnight with an immediate -20% drop.The US imposed a 25% tariff on imports from India.Talks with China have been inconclusive in Stockholm and will no doubt drag on unresolved over the '90 day extension' period. China will count that as a win.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.37%, up +4 bps from yesterday. The price of gold will start today at US$3,277/oz, down -US$50 from yesterday with most of it after the US Fed decision.American oil prices have risen another +US$1.50 at just under US$70.50/bbl with the international Brent price is now at just on US$73.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar was at 59.2 USc and down -30 bps from yesterday pre the Fed. Then it fell another -30 bps to 58.9 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 91.6 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 51.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.2, down another -30 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price started today at US$117,766 and essentially unchanged again (+US$51) from this time yesterday. But after the US Fed decision, it took a -1.3% tumble. Volatility over the past 24 hours rose to +/-1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the IMF says global growth is projected at 3.0% for 2025 and 3.1% in 2026, an upward revision from the April 2025 World Economic Outlook. This reflects front-loading ahead of tariffs, lower effective tariff rates, better financial conditions, and fiscal expansion in some major jurisdictions.But first, the overnight GDT Pulse dairy prices came in without the signaled drop in WMP prices by the derivatives market. In fact it rose +1% from the prior event. The SMP price however fell -1%. So in fact little net movement.And the Stockholm US-China tariff negotiations are to be extended, essentially ignoring the US imposed August 1 deadline. And the US-EU 'deal' wasn't 'done' as the Whitehouse claimed. More 'horse-trading' is being scheduled.The growth steam is slowly leaking from the Redbook retail index, up +4.9% last week from this time last year. Most of this will be goods inflation.US exports rose +3.4% in June from a year ago whereas US imports were up +0.3% on the same basis. That reduced their merchandise trade deficit to -US$87 bln and back to about where it was at the start of 2024. Without the +11% rise in aircraft exports there would have been little improvement.The number of job openings in the US fell by -275,000 from May to 7.4 mln in June, below market expectations of 7.55 mln. Their quit rate fell to a six month low. Expectations for the July non-farm payrolls are pretty modest at +110,000, taking them back to early 2025 levels.The latest Conference Board survey of consumer sentiment, for July, was little changed. But almost 19% of those surveyed indicated that jobs were hard to get in July, up from 14.5% in January. This group thought inflation was running at 5.8% currently, and is likely to go higher.There was a very well supported US Treasury bond auction overnight, for their seven year Note. But investors still wanted higher yields with the median coming in at 4.06%, up from 3.96% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.But expect rising pressure from the demand side. The US Treasury said during the July - September 2025 quarter, they expect to borrow US$1.007 tln in privately-held net marketable debt, assuming an end-of-September cash balance of US$850 bln - which may be optimistic. This new borrowing estimate is +US$453 bln higher than they announced in April so it is rising faster than even they expected, primarily due to the lower beginning-of-quarter cash balance and projected lower net cash flows.In Europe, the latest ECB survey of inflation expectations has them well contained, coming in at 2.6% for the year ahead, the lowest in four months. Policymakers there are not battling high inflation expectations.Later today, Australia will release its Q2 CPI inflation rate, expected to be 2.2% and down from the 2.4% in Q1-2025.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.33%, down -9 bps from yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$3,327/oz, up +US$18 from yesterday.American oil prices have risen +US$2.50 at just under US$69/bbl with the international Brent price is now at just over US$72/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at 59.6 USc and down -10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 91.4 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 51.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.5, down another -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$117,725 and essentially unchanged (+US$61) from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has remained low at just on +/-0.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with talks are underway in Stockholm between the US and China over a trade/tariff deal. Prospects are not high.And the recent EU-US deal has the makings of unravelling. Both France and Germany are unhappy about the outcome, made worse by the US claiming verbally pharmaceuticals have been excluded when the EU negotiators said they were not excluded from the 15% written deal.The big casualty in all of these deals, including the Japanese one, is trust in the US. Smartarse public commenting by the US president - even some of his advisers - means the deals struck are unlikely to be respected by the US or trusted by the others. The result isn't "a deal", it is a fluid mess.New Zealand's situation in all this will be a footnote, probably sometime on Saturday.In the US, the Dallas Fed's factory survey improved sharply in July, but this was all about higher production. New orders are still contracting, even if at a slower rate. Elevated input price pressures continued in July. Improved sentiment is driving the raised output even in the absence of a pickup in new orders.Financial market eyes are now turning to Thursday's (NZT) US Federal Reserve meeting and decisions. Despite the overt Whitehouse pressure, financial market pricing shows virtually no-one is pricing in a rate cut.In Canada, wholesale sales came in better than expected, up +0.7% in June from May when a -0.2% retreat was anticipated. But despite that good recent gain, they will still be lower than in June 2024.Across the Pacific, from 2022 to 2024, Taiwanese consumer confidence rose. But since October 2024 it has been falling. However the July survey rose, the first break in the recent down-trend. It wasn't a big move from June, but they will take it.In China, they are taking something they don't want. Foreign direct investment recorded another net outflow in June, and a worse one than the highly unusual April net outflow. The reasonable start to 2025 is being undone faster now. In the six months to June they have had a net inflow of US$42.3 bln. In 2024 they had more than that in just the first three months and even that was much weaker than in 2023 (US$98 bln) or 2022 (US$112 bln). Fleeing investors isn't a good look for China.Indian industrial production expanded a rather weak +1.5% in June from a year ago, held back by surprisingly weak mining (coal) production.. In their factories however, the story is much better with manufacturing production us +3.9% from a year ago, a better rise than in May although less than the +4.5% expected.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.42%, up +3 bps from yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$3,309/oz, down -US$27 from yesterday.American oil prices have risen +US$1.50 at just on US$66.50/bbl with the international Brent price is now at just under US$70/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at 59.7 USc and down -½c from yesterday and back to where it was a week ago. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 91.6 AUc. Against the euro we are up +30 bps at 51.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.6, down -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$117,664 and down -1.3% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has remained low at just on +/-0.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news - despite the US tariff news flooding the zone - the rest of the world economy is find a way to carry on.But first we should note that a 15% tariff deal seems to have been concluded between the EU and the US but one that excludes drugs and aluminium. It looks very like the Japanese deal. And the tariff tussle between China and the US looks like it has been extended another 90 days. The pressure will be on European and Japanese companies to become 15% more efficient, but US companies will relax, allowed to be 15% less efficient in their home markets. In the intermediate term this won't be good for global US competitiveness.In a look ahead this coming week, we will get our usual New Zealand monthly business and consumer sentiment survey updates. And our big end-of-month data dump from the RBNZ accentuated because it is end of quarter data. In Australia, it will be all about retail trade and inflation metrics.And Wall Street will be very busy with many more large companies releasing earnings.But the big interest rate influence will be from the central bank decisions from the US (no change expected), Japan (no change), and Canada (also no change). In all three cases the real interest will be on their commentary.Underlying all this will be July PMIs from most major economies, plus more Q2 GDP data, and many inflation updates.Over the weekend China released industrial profits data to June. They reported another slide, down -4.3% from June a year ago, the second straight monthly decline, amid persistent deflation pressures and growing trade uncertainty. State-owned enterprises experienced steeper losses while profit growth in the private sector slowed markedly. Profit gains were recorded in many sectors but one interesting one was in agriculture where profits were up more than +20%.In Russia, and as expected, they cut their policy rate by -200 bps to 18%. They signaled another cut is likely in 2025. They see disinflation on the rise, and household consumption lower. Part of that is due to the size of the diaspora of working aged men trying to avoid the death trap of the attempted invasion of Ukraine.In Europe, the ECB's survey of professional forecasters shows they don't expect much change in the coming year with things constrained by trade questions. They see inflation easing slightly, mainly due to the tariff effects, but GDP growth slightly stronger in the short term.The Ifo Business Climate Index for Germany edged up in July from June, to the highest level since May 2024. But the report was still full of cautious sentiment.In the US and as expected durable goods orders fell back in June after the May spike. Apart from the aircraft and defense sectors, it remained pretty ho-hum. New orders rose just +0.1%. Non-defense non-aircraft orders for capital goods fell when a rise was anticipated.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.39%, unchanged from Saturday.The price of gold will start today at US$3,336/oz, down -US$2 from Saturday.American oil prices have stayed softish at just on US$65/bbl with the international Brent price is still at just under US$68.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at 60.2 USc and up +10 bps from Saturday and up almost +½c from a week ago. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 91.6 AUc. Against the euro we are stable at 51.2 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.7, unchanged from Saturday but up +20 bps from a week ago.The bitcoin price starts today at US$119,210 and up +2.4% from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/-0.7%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news there are more tariff-deals being done, of the free trade type, but just not with the US and their mutually punitive style.In the US, jobless claims dipped last week, mainly on seasonal factors. There are now 2,016,000 people on these benefits, +5.3% more than the 1,914,000 on them this time last year.Sales of new single-family homes rose marginally in June from May's seven-month low to be well below what market expected. The number of unsold homes on the market rose to 511,000, the highest since October 2007 and now almost ten months of supply at the current sales pace.The July US S&P Markit factory PMI fell back into contraction which was very unexpected because a rise in the expansion was expected. However, this was masked by a strong rise in their service economy in July.The Kansas City Fed factory survey slipped back into contraction in July after its rare expansion in June. They reported increased factory activity but new order growth was weak and order backlogs fell sharply.In Canada, their advance estimate of retail sales suggests that sales increased +1.6% in June. That more than makes up for the -1.1% fall in May and is much better than the -0.3% fall expected.Meanwhile in Japan, the same S&P Global/Markit factory PMI unexpectedly contracted in July from June's 13-month high but minimal expansion. A small rise was expected.In India, they are starting to see rising international demand in their factory sector, and this pushed up their July factory PMI to a strong expansion.And India has signed a free trade deal with the UK, one touted to bring NZ$10 bln in mutual benefits.Also expected soon is a China-EU trade deal.In Europe, the eurozone PMI for July reported a further increase in business activity during the month, with the pace of expansion quickening to the fastest for almost a year amid a stabilisation of new orders. Output growth was at an 11 month high for them. Cost inflation is easing.Meanwhile, as expected the ECB rate review decision delivered no change. This effectively marks the end of its current easing cycle after eight cuts over the past year that brought borrowing costs to their lowest levels since November 2022. And don't forget, they remain in a tightening phase because they no longer reinvest maturing bonds issued during the pandemic emergency.In Australia, the S&P Global/Markit factory PMI expanded slightly faster in July, on the back of the sharpest overall rise in new business in over three years. This was despite export orders still contracting. The same report shows price pressures intensified, hinting at higher inflation in Australia in the coming months.And staying in Australia, research by the RBA shows that international students play a significant role in the Australian economy. They contribute to demand through their spending on goods and services and are an important source of labour for some Australian businesses. When there are large swings in international student numbers or when the economy has little spare capacity, this means that changing international student numbers can affect macroeconomic outcomes, particularly in sectors of the economy where supply cannot respond quickly. The rapid growth in international student numbers post-pandemic likely contributed to high inflation over this period, but was not a major driver. But they do push up rents.Container freight rates dropped another -3% last week to be -57% lower than year-ago levels, although to be fair the year-ago levels were unusually high. Outbound rates from China to the US are the weakest routes at present. But bulk cargo rates rose another +11% over the past week to be +13% higher than year-ago levelsThe UST 10yr yield is now at 4.41%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3,369/oz, down -US$18 from yesterday.American oil prices are marginally firmer at just under US$65.50/bbl but the international Brent price is still at just on US$68.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at 60.4 USc and unchanged from yesterday. Against the Aussie we have dipped -10 bps to 91.6 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at 51.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.8, up +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$117,232 and up +1.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just under +/-0.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news of more big-country tariff negotiation updates.But first, US mortgage applications were little-changed last week as their benchmark 30 year mortgage rate rose.Meanwhile, American home resales fell in June from May to an annualised rate of under 4 mln and down -4.4% from June 2024. This was largely driven by declining sales of single family homes. But median prices inched up, now at US$435,300 (NZ$720,000). High mortgage rates are getting the blame.There was another US Treasury bond auction overnight, this one for their 20 year maturity. It was well supported with a median yield of 4.89%. That was little different to the 4.88% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.The US has said it has agreed a 15% tariff deal with Japan (a notable level lower than the arbitrary 25% previously imposed). The main thing Japan had to do was agree to buy things (like aircraft) that would probably have bought from the US anyway. But it also supposedly requires Japan to water down its standards for rice imports and open their markets to US cars. Both of those requirements show a distinctly naive understanding of Japan. Very likely they will drive an anti-US sentiment by consumers there, mirroring what is happening in Canada. Japanese investors loved the deal - for Japan. boosting the Nikkei225 +2.2% at its market opening yesterday and ending the day up +3.5%.The Japanese bond market - an enormous beast - reacted with Japan's 10-year government bond yield surging nearly +10 bp to around 1.60% approaching its highest level since 2008.In South Korea, the glow after resolving its presidential issues has seen its Consumer Sentiment Index rise in July from June, the fourth consecutive monthly gain and the highest reading since January 2018. The improvement reflects growing optimism fueled by the newly elected government and expectations for economic stimulus.Taiwanese industrial production continues to expand aggressively, up another +18% in June from a year ago, no surprise given the strong order inflows we reported earlier this week. But Taiwanese retail sales are nowhere near as positive, actually.In Europe, there is growing optimism some sort of tariff deal with the US is imminent. The US-Japan deal is being seen as a benchmark, and the optimism is fuel by the early judgement that Japan will come out on top in that one.In Australia, economic growth momentum is leaking away. At least, that is what the Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading indicator data shows. For them, the main drag coming from commodity prices, consumer and business sentiment, and total hours worked.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.39%, up +5 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3,387/oz, down -US$40 from yesterday.American oil prices are holding at just over US$65/bbl but the international Brent price is still at just under US$68.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at 60.4 USc and up +40 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 91.6 AUc. Against the euro we are up +25 bps at 51.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.7, up +20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$117,867 and down -1.1% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has remained modest, at just under +/-1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news precious metals prices are having a moment - in US dollars at least, largely because the US dollar is extending its retreat. The same impact is affecting commodities like copper. Prices are rising in the US as a consequence of tariff-taxes which are pushing down the value of the greenback.But first, the dairy Pulse auction for SMP and WMP brought better results than the futures markets expected. SMP was up +1.7% and slightly better than the +1.5% expected. But the big mover was WMP which rose +1.5% when a -4% retreat was expected. The continuation of better prices will be something of a quiet relief in this industry.In the US. the retail impulse continued to expand last week, up +5.1% from a year ago. But the suspicion lingers that much of this is the inclusion of tariff taxes, despite what the CPI indicates.And those tariff taxes hurt the results in the latest Richmond Fed factory survey. This was their worst result in ten months and was led by a sharp retreat in new orders. Input cost growth stayed up.The cost of those tariff-taxes on US companies was on full display in US earnings reports. For Stellantis (Chrysler) it was US$300 mln, for GM US$1 bln. Both ate away at reported profits significantly. It is hard to see these type of companies absorbing costs like this for much longer.Across the Pacific, Taiwanese export orders continued their outstanding growth, up almost another +-25% in June from the same month in 2024 which itself led year-ago levels. It is hugely impressive and continues a very strong 2025 monthly set. It is their electronics industry leading the way.Sentiment in Japan bounced back yesterday as it became a clearer bet that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is expected to remain in office despite the embarrassing performance of his party at the recent upper house elections. But holding on, he will be a damaged leader. The upstart ‘Japanese First' Sanseito party has emerged as powerful force after these elections, and that was despite a 'secret' Russian campaign to support them (and destabilise Japan) that was exposed before voting.In the Europe, the ECB's latest credit survey fund a twist towards housing lending there. While credit standards for company loans remained broadly unchanged, credit standards tightened slightly for housing loans and more markedly for consumer credit. But this was because housing loan demand continued to increase strongly, while demand for company loans remained weak.In Australia, the vultures are out targeting vulnerable borrowers who are debt stressed. It has ASIC worried and they have launched a review into the debt management and credit repair sector in an effort to protect those experiencing financial hardship. Expect the Commerce Commission here to assess whether it needs to do similar work.Staying in Australia, the RBA released the minutes of its July 8 meeting and they revealed little new. They left its cash rate steady at 3.85% at this meeting, defying market forecasts for a -25 bps cut. The move was passed by majority vote, six in favour and three against. These minutes were full of "wait and see" sentiment, "data dependent" notes. Part of the waiting-to-see is because they doubt Trump will actually do what he threatens. They buy the TACO view apparently.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.34%, down -3 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3,427/oz, up another +US$34 from yesterday. And that almost matched its record high on April 21.And the silver price has pushed on up over US$39/oz It isn't yet threatening its 2011 peaks (US$48) but the recent climb has some people quite excited.American oil prices are -US$2 softer at just on US$65/bbl but the international Brent price is only down -50 USc at just under US$68.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at 60 USc and up +25 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 91.6 AUc. Against the euro we are also little-changed at 51.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 67.5, up +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$119,198 and up +1.1% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has remained modest, at just under +/-1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.