United States

• The final April Building Permits reading showed a 4.0% M/M decline to 1.422 million units, below the consensus of 1.412 million, marking the lowest level since May 2024.

• New Home Sales in April surged 10.9% M/M to an annualized rate of 743,000, significantly above the consensus of 692,000 and March's 670,000. This is the highest level since February 2022.
• The Baker Hughes rig count showed a decrease in activity. Oil rigs fell to 465 from 473, below the consensus of 473. Total rigs decreased to 566 from 576.

Canada

• March retail sales increased by 0.8% M/M, slightly above the 0.7% consensus, recovering from a 0.5% decline in February. However, retail sales excluding autos fell 0.7% M/M, missing the 0.0% consensus and marking the lowest reading since May 2024. Y/Y, retail sales were up 5.6%. Preliminary estimates for April indicate a 0.5% M/M rise in overall retail sales.

Europe

• UK Gfk Consumer Confidence for May improved to -20.0 from -23.0, beating expectations of -22.0.
• UK retail sales in April showed strong growth, rising 1.2% M/M (consensus 0.2%), with Y/Y sales up 5.0% (consensus 4.5%). Excluding fuel, sales were up 1.3% M/M and 5.3% Y/Y, both significantly stronger than March figures.

• Germany's final Q1 GDP confirmed a 0.4% Q/Q expansion, revised up from a preliminary 0.2% and rebounding from a 0.2% contraction in Q4 2024. Y/Y GDP growth was 0.0%, better than the -0.2% consensus.

• Sweden's unemployment rate (NSA) rose to 8.9% in April from 8.5% in March. The number of employed persons increased to 5.261 million from 5.240 million.
• Hungary's unemployment rate edged up to 4.4% in April from 4.3% in March.
• French consumer confidence in May fell to 88.0 from 91.0, below the expected 93.0 and marking its lowest level since October 2023.

• Eurozone negotiated wage growth slowed to 2.38% Y/Y in Q1 2025 from 4.12% in Q4 2024, the lowest since December 2021.
• Poland's M3 money supply grew 10.4% Y/Y in April, up from 10.3% in March and beating consensus of 10.0%. This is the fastest pace of growth since April 2021.

Japan

• April inflation data showed headline CPI steady at 3.6% Y/Y, while core CPI (ex-fresh food) rose to 3.5% Y/Y from 3.2% (consensus 3.4%). Core-core inflation (CPI ex-food and energy) also ticked up to 3.0% Y/Y from 2.9%. On a M/M basis, seasonally adjusted CPI rose 0.1%.

• The 3-Month Bill Auction yield was 0.3818%, up from 0.3677% previously.

Asia-Pacific

• New Zealand's Q1 retail sales volumes rose 0.8% Q/Q, beating consensus of 0.1% and following a 1.0% rise in Q4. Y/Y, retail sales were up 0.7%.

• Malaysia's Coincident Index fell 0.2% M/M in March, a reversal from the 1.8% rise in February. The Leading Index also declined by 0.04% M/M.

• Singapore's April inflation rate held steady at 0.9% Y/Y (consensus 0.8%), while core inflation rose to 0.7% Y/Y from 0.5% (consensus 0.5%). M/M, CPI fell 0.3%.
• Taiwan's industrial production surged 22.31% Y/Y in April, up from 12.76% in March, marking the highest growth since February 2020.

• Taiwan's retail sales value fell 0.6% Y/Y in April, after a 0.4% rise in March.

China

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) year-to-date in April fell 10.9% Y/Y, a slight deterioration from the -10.8% Y/Y recorded in March.

Emerging Markets ex China

• Mexico's trade balance for April registered a deficit of $88 million, narrower than the consensus forecast of a $160 million deficit, and a sharp swing from March's $3.44 billion surplus.

• Mexico's Q1 current account posted a deficit of $7.61 billion, smaller than the expected $18.05 billion deficit, compared to a $12.81 billion surplus in Q4 2024.

Equities

• US equities finished lower, with the S&P 500 down -0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite declining -0.9%.
• Globally, markets were mixed. Notable gainers included Mexico (+1.4%), South Korea (+1.1%), and Canada (+1.0%). Germany (-0.9%) and France (-0.6%) also saw declines. Emerging markets overall were up 0.4%.

Fixed Income

• US Treasury yields fell across the curve. The 2-year yield decreased by 1.2 bps, the 5-year by 3.7 bps, the 10-year by 4.2 bps, and the 30-year by 2.7 bps.

FX

• The US dollar weakened against all G10 currencies. The New Zealand Dollar (+1.2%) and Swedish Krona (+1.1%) were among the top performers. The Euro and British Pound gained 0.6% each against the dollar.

Disclaimer

Augur Digest is a fully automated newsletter written by an AI. It may contain inaccuracies and is not investment advice. Augur Labs LLC will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your reliance on the information contained in the newsletter.