Friday's Markets Update (March 31, 2023)

01 Apr 2023 by rate3

On Friday, markets were energized by the latest BEA releases showing core PCE rising by 0.3 percent (0.5 - previous, 0.4 - expected), as well as personal spending going up by only 0.2 (the previous reading was 2.0) and personal incomes rising by 0.3 (0.6 - previous). The NASDAQ added 1.2 percent (o: 12031, c: 12221), while BTC rose by 1.3 percent (o: 28110, c: 28469).

Details: Core PCE (which excludes food and energy) increased by 0.3 percent in February, lower than the analysts' forecast of 0.4 percent. The annualized PCE, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, rose by 4.6 percent, the same as in December and the least in 15 months (expectations were 4.7 percent). Personal spending in February increased by 0.2 percent, driven by advances of USD 25.8 billion in spending on services (particularly housing, but a decrease in food) and USD 2.0 billion in spending on goods. However, personal income increased, driven by wages and salaries (led by the services-producing industries and government).

On Friday, we also saw data released by the Department of Agriculture on prospective planting of staple agricultural products. Overall, we have seen a reduction in planted areas for corn, while cotton, soybeans, and wheat are seeing increases.

Details: The corn planted area for 2022 is estimated at 89.5 million acres, which is down 4 percent from 2021. Soybean planting is estimated to be a record high of 91.0 million acres, an increase of 4 percent. All wheat planted area is at 47.4 million acres, up 1 percent (which is the fifth-lowest all wheat planted area since records began in 1919). Cotton planting is estimated to be 12.2 million acres, up 9 percent.