United States

• US MBA mortgage applications fell 1.2% W/W for the week ending May 23rd, following a 5.1% drop previously. The Purchase Index rose 2.7% W/W, while the Refinance Index fell 7.1% W/W. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6.98% from 6.92%.

• The Redbook Index of same-store sales rose 6.1% Y/Y for the week ending May 24th, up from 5.4% in the prior week.

• The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index improved to -9.0 in May from -13.0 in April, matching consensus. The shipments component also rose to -10 from -17.

• The Dallas Fed Services Index increased to -10.1 in May from -19.4. However, the Dallas Fed Services Revenues Index fell to -4.7 from 3.8.

Europe

• German import prices fell 1.7% M/M in April (consensus -1.4%, previous -1.0%), with the Y/Y rate declining to -0.4% from 2.1% (consensus 0.1%).
• Germany's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 6.3% in May, as expected. The number of unemployed persons increased by 34k, significantly above the 10k consensus and the prior 6k rise.

• Norwegian retail sales (volume) rose 0.7% M/M in April, accelerating from a 0.6% increase in March.

• Sweden's trade surplus narrowed to SEK 6.6 billion in April from SEK 11.2 billion in March.

• Swedish retail sales (volume) increased by 0.9% M/M in April (previous 0.7%). Y/Y, sales grew 5.3%, the strongest pace since November 2021 (previous 3.2%).

• France's Q1 GDP growth was finalized at 0.1% Q/Q, an improvement from the 0.1% contraction in Q4 2024 and in line with consensus. Y/Y growth was 0.6%.

• French household consumption rose 0.3% M/M in April, rebounding from a 1.1% fall in March, but below the 0.8% consensus.

• French non-farm payrolls edged down 0.1% Q/Q in Q1 2025, following a 0.4% decline in Q4 2024.

• French producer prices (PPI) fell sharply by 4.3% M/M in April (previous -0.5%), the largest drop since April 2023. The Y/Y rate decreased to -0.8% from -0.2%.

• Switzerland's ZEW Economic Sentiment Index improved significantly to -22.0 in May from -51.6 in April.

• Belgium's Q1 GDP growth was confirmed at 0.4% Q/Q, accelerating from 0.2% in Q4 and in line with consensus. Y/Y growth was 1.1%.

• Belgian inflation (CPI) slowed to 2.01% Y/Y in May from 2.55% in April. M/M, prices fell 0.16%.

• Eurozone consumer inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 3.1% in April from 2.9% in March, according to the ECB's survey.
• Irish retail sales volumes rose 1.1% M/M in April, recovering from a 0.7% decline in March. Y/Y, sales increased by 3.0%.

Asia-Pacific

• Australian construction work done was flat (0.0% Q/Q) in Q1 2025, below the 0.5% consensus and down from a 0.9% rise in Q4 2024.
• Australia's Monthly CPI Indicator held steady at 2.4% Y/Y in April, slightly above the 2.3% consensus and unchanged from March.

• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) cut its Official Cash Rate by 25 bps to 3.25% from 3.50%, a move that was widely expected.

Emerging Markets ex China

• South Korean business confidence (BSI) rose to 73.0 in May from 68.0 in April.

• Taiwan's final Q1 GDP showed growth of 5.48% Y/Y, an upward revision from the preliminary 3.82% and above the 5.37% consensus.

• Turkey's Economic Confidence Index edged up to 96.7 in May from 96.6 in April.

• Indian industrial production grew 2.7% Y/Y in April, slowing from 3.9% in March but above the 1.0% consensus. Manufacturing output rose 3.4% Y/Y.

• Russian industrial production increased by 1.5% Y/Y in April, up from 0.8% in March and beating the 1.1% consensus.

• Brazil created 257,528 net formal jobs in April, significantly above the 175,000 consensus and March's 71,576.

Equities

• US markets closed lower, with the S&P 500 down -0.6% and the Nasdaq -0.5%. Globally, South Korea (+1.3%) was a notable gainer, while Germany (-1.3%), France (-1.0%), the UK (-1.0%), Australia (-1.1%), China (-1.0%), and Brazil (-1.1%) saw significant declines.

Fixed Income

• US Treasury yields rose across the curve: the 2-year yield increased by 5.0 bps, the 5-year by 5.0 bps, the 10-year by 4.8 bps, and the 30-year by 4.0 bps.

FX

• The US dollar strengthened against most G10 currencies. The NZD (+0.2% vs USD) and CHF (+0.1%) saw slight gains, while the AUD (-0.3%), CAD (-0.4%), EUR (-0.3%), GBP (-0.4%), and JPY (-0.3%) weakened.

Disclaimer

Augur Digest is an 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.