Thursday's Markets Update (May 11, 2023)

14 May 2023 by rate3

On Thursday, the increase in PPI was lower than expected but not enough to exit traders, which led to NASDAQ stalling (o:12321, c:12328), while BTC (o:27399, c:26843) slid down another 2 percent.

Details: According to recent data, prices for goods and services produced by businesses rose by 0.2% in April, bouncing back from a 0.4% decline in March. Service-related costs increased by 0.3%, with portfolio management seeing the biggest jump at 4.1%. Additionally, prices increased for food, wholesale alcohol, and lending services. Goods prices also rose 0.2%, with gasoline, vegetables, steel scrap, plastic materials, airplanes, and hydraulic equipment leading the way. Annual inflation for producers slowed down for the tenth straight month to 2.3%, hitting the lowest level since January 2021, and the core rate decreased to 3.2%.

World's Notable Macroeconomic Updates:

Britain: In May 2023, the Bank of England announced its twelfth consecutive increase in the interest rate, bringing it to 4.5%. The bank anticipates a decrease in inflation to 5.1% in Q4 2023, down from the previous forecast of 3.9% in February, to achieve the 2% target by late 2024. While the economy is predicted to stall in Q1 and Q2, it is expected to grow by 0.25% in 2023, which is an improvement from the previous forecast of a 0.5% contraction.

In March, the UK's gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% on a monthly basis, which was worse than expected as February's reading remained unchanged. The services sector, which shrank by 0.5%, was the primary drag on the economy, led by a 1.4% fall in wholesale and retail trade. Output in vehicle trade declined even more sharply, by 4.1%.