Blackfinch Group
Monday Market Update
The ever-changing world we live in reinforces the importance
of regular up-to-date communication. This weekly news update from our
multi-asset portfolio managers provides you with a summary of global events
for your reference and to share with clients.
Issue 130 | 13th February, 2023
UK COMMENTARY
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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the UK economy expanded by 0.01% in the fourth quarter of 2022. This meant the UK narrowly avoided falling into a technical recession, characterised by two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
- GDP for the services sector shrank by 0.8% in December, which helped to drag the wider UK economy down by 0.5% for the month overall.
- The most recent Business Trends Report from international accounting firm BDO, which covers more than 4,000 companies, found a sharp decline in growth in January. Its Output Index tracking economic growth fell for the fourth month running, falling by 3.45 points to 89.15, well below the crucial 95 point showing stagnation.
- Halifax’s latest housing market health check revealed that the average UK property cost £281,684 in January, showing little movement from December’s £281,713. That followed a 1.3% fall in December and a 2.4% drop in November, as rising mortgage costs and the cost of living squeeze hit borrowers.
NORTH AMERICA COMMENTARY
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A stellar jobs report from the US showed 517k jobs were added in January, smashing analyst forecasts of 185k. This suggested the US jobs market had discounted recent interest rate increases, and added fuel to the fire of ‘higher-for-longer’ borrowing costs.
- The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index rose from 64.9 in January to 66.4 in February, putting it at its highest in nearly a year. The gain was more than the consensus anticipated.
- US consumer borrowing in rose by $11.6bn in December 2022, the smallest consumer credit increase in over a year. Revolving credit (flexible credit that doesn’t have a fixed number of repayments) rose $7.2bn, the smallest gain since August 2021, while non-revolving credit rose $4.4bn, the smallest increase since August 2020. The cutback in borrowing was consistent with a slowing pace of consumer spending at the end of 2022.
EUROPE COMMENTARY
- German industrial production dropped by 3.1% in December and was 3.9% lower than one year ago, according to the Federal Statistics Office Destatis. Production at energy-intensive industries fell 6.1% month-on-month, as surging fuel and electricity prices continued to hit manufacturers.
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