new orders

The US may be adding jobs in huge numbers but the key ISM business surveys cast serious doubt on how long this can last. The manufacturing ISM index is already indicating recession and the service sector will soon join it unless order books turn around dramatically. ISM reports indicate a rapid softening in business activity Last week’s ISM manufacturing index dropped to 46.9, the seventh consecutive sub-50 reading with order books, aside from two months of pandemic stress, looking in their worst shape since the 2009. Today’s ISM services report for May, while not quite as grim, only adds to worries about the outlook for the economy. The headline balance fell to 50.3 from 51.9 (consensus 52.4). As with many of the manufacturing ISM components, the only time the service sector report has been weaker in the past 14 years was in April and May 2020 at the peak of Covid containment and the December 2022 blip caused by the huge winter storm that was so disruptive for the travel, entertainment and service sectors. The details are poor throughout with business activity having similar metrics to the headline. New orders fell 3.2 points to 52.9, but the backlog of orders plummeted to 40.9 from 49.7. The backlog of orders are not seasonally-adjusted so comparisons are tricky, but for what it is worth, this is the worst reading since 2009. This is something that we also saw in the manufacturing report, dropping from 43.1 to 37.5.   ISM reports are heading in the wrong directions    

Eurozone industrial production up in April but with lots of underlying weakness The production increase in April underwhelms and leaves a good chance of negative overall production growth in the second quarter. The economy, therefore, remains in a stagnation environment as the second quarter is unlikely to show much of a bounceback in economic activity.   The 1% increase in production in April came on the back of a -3.8% decline in March. While this is a disappointing bounceback, the underlying data look worse. Growth was mainly down to a 21.5% increase in Ireland, which has notoriously volatile production data these days. The large countries experienced poor output developments in April. German production was flat according to the European definition, France posted a small 0.8% increase, but Italy, Spain and the Netherlands experienced a contraction of -1.9, -1.8 and -3.5% respectively.   Industrial dynamics provide a mixed picture at best for the sector. New orders have been weak for some time now. Domestic demand for goods has been declining for a while and global activity has also disappointed. Besides that, the catch-up effects from supply chain disruptions have been fading. On the other hand, lower energy prices should work favourably from a production perspective, but overall this is not yet resulting in stronger activity.   This release does not bode well for second-quarter GDP. The small increase in production in April leaves industrial output well below the first-quarter average. Given that May surveys of the sector continue to be downbeat, it is likely that production will contract on the quarter. With retail sales sluggish in April and May surveys pessimistic, don’t expect much of a second quarter in terms of economic recovery after two quarters of negative growth.

Poland: Further declines in industrial activity and PPI Industrial production fell by 3.2% in May for the fourth consecutive month. Producer price growth slowed to 3.1% year-on-year from 6.2% YoY a month earlier. Ongoing disinflation may allow for symbolic policy easing by the National Bank of Poland this autumn. The drop in industrial production of 3.2%YoY came close to expectations (consensus: -3.0% YoY), following a 6.0% YoY decline in April (revised). This was the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year production decline. Adjusted for seasonal factors, production fell by 1.0% month-on-month, contracting for the third consecutive month. Manufacturing output fell by 2.7% YoY. We also saw declines in mining (11.2% YoY), power generation (6.5% YoY), as well as water supply and waste management (2.4% YoY).   Among the manufacturing divisions, the deepest year-on-year declines were seen in the production of wood products (22.5%) and chemicals (20.7%). By contrast, the largest increases were seen in the repair, maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment (36.2%), the manufacture of electrical equipment – including automotive batteries – (14.5%) and the manufacture of vehicles (11.7%).   The slightly slower-than-April year-on-year decline in industrial production was due to a more favourable calendar pattern, among other factors. May's manufacturing PMI report also suggested a slight improvement in new orders and current production, but a continued decline in seasonally adjusted month-on-month production remains concerning. We expect that the year-on-year decline in production will continue over the coming months. A positive sign is the increase in the production of capital goods (9.1% YoY), suggesting continued investment growth.   Producer price growth (PPI) slowed in April to 3.1% YoY (ING: 4.7%; consensus: 4.6%) from 6.2% YoY a month earlier (revised data). Compared to April, prices declined in all sections except water supply and waste management. This is the fourth consecutive month that the PPI index declined in month-on-month terms, and prices in manufacturing have been falling since November. On a year-on-year basis, declines in processing prices (1.7%) are being supported by a significant discount in the coke and refined petroleum products manufacturing division (30.5%). Prices in mining (15.5%) and energy production (37.0%) are still markedly higher than a year ago.   Producer prices remain on a clear disinflationary path, and the Monetary Policy Council expects CPI inflation to fall further as well. Recent statements by National Bank of Poland President Adam Glapinski indicate that the drop in CPI inflation to single-digit levels in September, which we expect, could result in a rate cut this autumn. This will not yet be the start of a full easing cycle, which we expect only in the fourth quarter of 2024. We see a number of inflation risks in the medium term, highlighted by central bankers in core markets maintaining a restrictive monetary policy stance.

China: Non-manufacturing activity slows Official PMI data confirm that the re-opening surge in the service sector is subsiding.   The main engine of growth is spluttering Apart from a short-lived bounce in the manufacturing sector after the zero-Covid measures were shelved in early December 2022, China's manufacturing has been limping along. The official PMI index for the manufacturing sector (which tends to focus on larger, state-owned enterprises) has been below the breakeven 50 level since April. It was not much of a surprise to see it stay in this area in June, though perhaps the fact that the contraction is relatively stable is a source of some comfort. At least things aren't getting noticeably worse.     Instead, it has been the non-manufacturing sector, buoyed by consumer spending, that has been keeping China's economy growing in the first half of this year. But what this data confirms, which we already suspected, is that the initial surge contained a lot of pent-up demand. Domestic tourism, and dining out have been making up for lost time in the early part of the year. But there is only so long that this can go on. Other indicators of retail sales suggest that it remains well above historical trends, and suggests some further moderation over the second half of this year.  Looking at the breakdown of the surveys, there are no particular standouts. Most sub-indices are declining in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing surveys. This includes new orders, new export orders and employment.  Caixin PMI data due early next week will provide more insight into smaller and more export-oriented firms.   China PMI data   PMIs support our GDP downgrade These latest data provide further support for GDP downgrades for the second quarter. They also support the idea that the second half could see weaker support from the service sector. We will be publishing new GDP forecasts next week for China, and these look highly likely to show a cut to the existing full-year GDP figure of 5.7%, and likely take the forecast below the existing consensus forecast of 5.5%. We may still just sit on the right side of 5.0% - the government's target for this year - but that only goes to show what a low hurdle 5% was to achieve after last year's 3% outcome.   The market continues to fixate on the possibility of stimulus measures, and in due course, we do expect the government to step in and provide some support. However, we remain unconvinced that this will resemble anything like the financial bazooka that some want to see, but will instead be more of a buck-shot spray of smaller more targeted measures that may not move the GDP needle substantially. 

US stock market closes at 1 p.m. and the bond market closes at 2 p.m. EST  and will stay closed for the Fourth of July. US ISM Manufacturing index contracts for an eight straight month Tesla shares pop on robust Q2 delivery data The start of the second half of the year is not doing much for US stocks as most of Wall Street is in holiday mode for the Fourth of July.  Today’s shortened trading session saw traders focus on strong electric vehicle data from Tesla and a weak ISM Manufacturing report.      ISM The headline manufacturing reading fell to 46.1, the eight straight contraction and weakest reading since May 2020.  The ISM manufacturing report showed a large price drop with prices paid and the employment component fell into contraction territory.  Prices paid fell from 44.2 to 41.8, the lowest levels in a year.  The news was not all bad as new orders rose from 42.6 to 45.6.  The dollar tumbled following the ISM report that might suggest manufacturing activity is getting close to finding a bottom.  Fed swaps saw a lower peak rate following the softer manufacturing report.  Student Loan Debt The Supreme Court delivered a big blow to millions of students that were hoping to have up to $20,000 of loan debt wiped away.  The Biden administration was hoping to get a major win with the $1.8 trillion student loan crisis. They will now scramble to formulate a new plan that will give students a break before the federal student loan payments are due in October.  This could be a noticeable hit to the economy as these students haven’t had to make payments since the pandemic began.  Biden announced a one-year ramp on loan repayments, which is probably just the beginning of pledged efforts to help students.  This will likely become a campaign issue for Biden.    Tesla It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Tesla posted a record number of deliveries in the second quarter after all the price cuts, a resilient US consumer and a decent performance in China. Tesla delivered 466,140 vehicles in Q2, much better than Wall Street’s expectation of 448,350 cars.  When it comes to analysts ratings, Tesla mostly has buy and hold ratings, but that might improve following these results.  BYD also posted robust sales in China, topping Volkswagen for the first time.  Volkswagen was king in China for the past 15 years, so this overtaking is a key changing of the guard moment for BYD.  China has gone all-in with electric vehicles and that is benefitting Tesla and BYD.     

Asia Morning Bites The RBA decision will be the main data release for the day as the US takes a holiday.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  Not surprisingly, it was a fairly moribund start to the week for US stocks ahead of today’s US holiday.  Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 made small gains. There was more action on Chinese bourses, where the Hang Seng rose 2.06% and the CSI 300 rose 1.31%. US Treasury yields continued to rise with 2Y yields up a further 4bp but 10Y yields up just 1.8bp. EURUSD is largely unchanged at 1.0914. The AUD is looking a little stronger at 0.6675 ahead of the RBA later today (we expect no change from them, though the market is split).  Cable was little changed, but the JPY lost further ground rising to 144.64. In Asian Markets, the KRW and THB made some gains, but it was a lacklustre day for most currency pairs.   G-7 macro:  The US Manufacturing ISM index weakened further to 46.0 from 46.9, and the employment index dipped into contraction territory, falling from 51.4 to 48.1. New orders were slightly less bad at 45.6, up from 42.6, but still in contraction territory. The equivalent manufacturing PMI index produced by S&P also registered 46.0, though was flat from the previous month. US construction data was stronger than expected, rising 0.9% MoM, though there were a lot of downward revisions. Apart from German trade data, it is quiet for Macro today in the G-7.   Australia:  The RBA decision today has the market split. Of 32 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, 13 expect a rise of 25bp to 4.35%, while 19 (including ourselves) expect no change to the current 4.1% cash rate target. The main reasons for our decision are as follows: The RBA hiked in June, and although the data has been mixed, back-to-back hikes seem excessive with rates already at an elevated level. Moreover, the run of recent inflation data has been far more benign than was expected, and if last month’s finely balanced decision was pushed over the edge by higher-than-expected inflation, this month’s decision should result in no change by the same logic. See this note on the latest CPI data for more on this. Finally, there will be much better occasions for the RBA to hike in the months ahead if that remains necessary. September will be one of those, as the RBA can assess the impact of large electricity tariff increases which are due in July, and should be visible in CPI data by September. Also, favourable base effects drop out after July's CPI release for several months, so it is not inconceivable that we see some backing up of inflation over the third quarter before it dips again into the year-end.   South Korea: Consumer prices rose 2.7% YoY in June, slowing for a fifth month (vs 3.3% in May, 2.8% market consensus) as gasoline (-23.8%) and diesel (-35.2%) prices limited overall price increases. Excluding agricultural products and oils, core inflation also slowed to 4.1% from 4.3% in May. We believe that inflation will stay in the 2% range throughout the year, there will be some ups and downs, but inflation probably won’t return above 3%. KEPCO raised power bills from the middle of May leading utility fees to rise sharply (25.9%), but we don’t expect additional fee hikes throughout this year due to falling global commodity prices. Also, rent prices marked five monthly drops in month-on-month comparisons, and the declines are gradually increasing each month. As a result, we think that service prices will come down further in the coming months. Today’s data support our view that the Bank of Korea (BoK) will continue to stay on hold.  Now, the question is the timing of the first rate cut. We have pencilled in a 25bp cut in October as inflation is expected to head towards 2% while the economic recovery remains sluggish. The BoK may be concerned that rate cuts could cause a rebound of household borrowing, along with the recent easing of mortgage measures. At the same time, rising delinquency rates and default rates will also be a concern for the BoK as strict credit conditions have increased the burden on households.     What to look out for: RBA meeting South Korea CPI inflation (4 July) Australia RBA meeting (4 July) Japan Jibun PMI services (5 July) Philippines CPI inflation (5 July) China Caixin PMI services (5 July) Thailand CPI inflation (5 July) Singapore retail sales (5 July) US factory orders and durable goods (5 July) FOMC minutes (6 July) Australia trade (6 July) Malaysia BNM meeting (6 July) Taiwan CPI inflation (6 July) US ADP employment, initial jobless claims, trade balance, ISM services (6 July) South Korea BOP balance (7 July) Taiwan trade (7 July) US NFP (7 July)

Recent PMI readings in the European economy have raised concerns about the future of the region. The Euro area composite PMI dipped below the 50-point mark, indicating a contraction for the first time this year. This significant shift in momentum suggests a potential 3 to 6-month period of economic decline.  The tightening monetary policy by the European Central Bank (ECB) aimed at reducing inflation has contributed to these contracting indicators. The drop in composite PMI was driven by a decline in both manufacturing and services PMI, with manufacturing consistently below the expansion territory. However, services PMI still remains in expansion, although a continued decrease could indicate contracting business confidence. Job creation in the Euro area remained limited to the services sector, while employment in factories declined for the first time in over two years. This slowdown in hiring, coupled with a decrease in business confidence, may lead to rising unemployment rates. On a positive note, the weakness in PMI readings can be partly attributed to destocking activities, which can benefit businesses in the long run. Additionally, there have been slight improvements in new order numbers, particularly in Italy's construction sector, suggesting a potential turnaround. These dynamics will likely influence the ECB's monetary stance moving forward.   FXMAG.COM:  How would you comment on the entire series of PMI readings from the European economy? What do the sentiment in industry and services say about the future of the European economy?   Santa Zvaigzne-Sproge, CFA: The Euro area composite PMI came out below the 50-point level indicating that it has entered the zone of contraction for the first time this year. This was a considerable change in momentum in comparison to April’s reading of 54.1 and even the previous month’s reading of 52.8. Furthermore, the historical data show us that once the PMI slides below the 50-point mark, it tends to stay there for a 3 to 6-month period. As tightening monetary policy by the ECB has been performed with the key aim to draw down inflation by reducing economic activity, contracting economic indicators such as PMI may not be a big surprise.    The drop in composite PMI resulted from a combination of lowering manufacturing PMI and services PMI data. However, the difference between both is nearly 10 points with services PMI still being in the expansion territory while manufacturing has not been there since August 2022. The large difference might be partially explained by the nature of both sectors. Manufacturing generally implies more capital intensity and longer production times, therefore, requiring more planning ahead, while services may be more flexible and adapt faster. However, if the services PMI data continues to lower, it may indicate that business confidence is contracting also in this sector.    In June, private companies in the Euro area maintained their efforts to expand their workforce, but job creation was limited to the services sector, while employment in factories declined for the first time since January 2021. The slowdown in hiring coincided with a decrease in business confidence across the Euro area. While firms maintained an optimistic outlook, the level of positive sentiment reached its lowest point in 2023 thus far. Growth expectations also softened in both the manufacturing and services sectors. In case job growth continues to stagnate, it may translate into increasing unemployment rates across the Euro area, which may give the ECB a reason to reconsider its hawkish monetary stance.    To finish on a more positive note, we need to point out that the weakness in PMI readings has been partially associated with destocking, leading to lower new order numbers. While negatively affecting PMI numbers, destocking may be considered as cyclical activity performed by managers beneficial to their businesses. Furthermore, destocking cannot last endlessly – once the stock levels reach a certain point, new orders may need to go up to support the “restocking”. There has been a somewhat positive development in this section in Italy where according to the latest construction PMI report, new orders increased marginally ending the six-month-long strike of contraction.  Santa Zvaigzne-Sproge, CFA, Head of Investment Advice Department at Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service) Materials, analysis, and opinions contained, referenced, or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. The personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement, or investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73,02% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Limited growth in foreign demand After a weak first quarter, Dutch exports are expected to pick up over the rest of 2023 and 2024, in line with a recovery in global merchandise trade, which recently experienced a setback. Conditions have improved as supply chain disruptions are hardly hampering trade anymore, global destocking is gradually decreasing, and China is no longer having lockdowns. This expectation is also in line with the increased outlook of producers regarding foreign turnover in the next three months. However, goods exports are likely to grow only at a slow pace. The economies of the eurozone, the US, and the UK remain weak, and the shift from goods to services consumption continues.   Inventory reduction will gradually decrease Producers are still relying on their inventories due to reduced demand and significantly diminished supply chain issues. The historically large stock of materials and finished products is increasingly seen as a cost item since financing has become more expensive due to higher interest rates. With the long-lasting disrupted supply chains fresh in memory and considering the current geopolitical unrest, producers won’t deplete their buffer stocks completely. However, a majority of Dutch producers still consider their finished product inventory to be too large. Therefore, traders and final producers are aligning their inventories with expected sales. Suppliers are also reducing their inventories. This bullwhip effect has led to significant production declines at the beginning of value chains, such as in basic chemistry, basic metal, and plastic industries, but it will gradually decrease.   Bottom for energy-intensive industry in sight On the other hand, new orders in the chemical and plastics industries are picking up again. Energy prices are also significantly lower than the average of the past year. Therefore, some recovery in the energy-intensive industry is possible from the second quarter onwards. As a result, the energy-driven growth gap between manufacturing sectors is gradually disappearing. However, due to economic headwinds and energy prices expected to remain structurally higher than in 2021, the energy-intensive industry does not anticipate a quick return to previous production levels.

Eurozone industrial production confirms no strong GDP bounce back for 2Q With more data coming in, it really seems to be a coin flip as to whether the eurozone technical recession continued into the second quarter. The May production data is consistent with industry stagnating at a relatively low level of activity.   Industrial production increased by 0.2% in May, which is the second small increase in a row after plummeting in March. Overall, this leaves the level of activity well below the average for where it was in 2022, in line with a weakening global growth environment in which demand for goods has moderated. In recent months, industrial production has stagnated. There are large differences by sector, which is due to the shocks that individual sectors have been influenced by in recent years. At the moment, the sectors most hurt by supply-chain problems are still contributing positively to annual industrial production growth. The sectors that profited a lot from the pandemic – think of pharma for example – are showing more volatile production performance at the moment and energy production and energy-intensive sectors are contributing negatively. For the months ahead, weakness continues to be in the cards as surveys point to a drying up of backlogged orders and new orders are weakening. Global demand is going through a weak patch and that is reflected by a subdued outlook for the manufacturing sector. For GDP growth in the second quarter, the impact is clear. Production will have needed a strong rebound in June to have an average production level similar to the first quarter. That seems unrealistic given the negative PMI and industrial sentiment data for the month. Another quarterly decline for industrial output is therefore in the making, which is also likely for retail sales. The goods part of the economy is therefore likely to have remained in recession and services – on which we have much less intermediate data – will have needed to perform well to eke out a positive growth figure. It’s likely that the eurozone economy has therefore continued to straddle the zero growth line in the second quarter, extending the current phase of stagnation in economic activity.

Poland: Industrial output decreases YoY in June Industrial output (June): -2.2% YoY We forecast that industrial production remained in the red in June, falling for the fifth consecutive month in annual terms. Last month’s PMI report points to a further sharp deterioration in new orders, particularly from Germany, which suggests that weakness in Poland’s manufacturing activity is likely to continue in the near term. On a positive note, capital goods manufacturing has remained solid recently, giving reason to expect further growth in fixed investment. PPI (June): 1.3% YoY Rapid disinflation in producer prices likely continued in June and annual growth is trending towards negative figures. In monthly terms, PPI has been falling since February this year and prices in manufacturing have been declining in MoM terms since November last year. Given the high reference base, this has led to a rapid drop in annual wholesale inflation. June's PMI report showed that the downward pressure on manufacturing prices remains strong. In the second half of 2023, we expect producer prices to be lower than in the second half of 2022. Retail sales (June): -5.5% YoY We forecast that retail sales of goods fell again in June as the broad-based decline in consumption demand continued. Higher prices and a deterioration in the real purchasing power of households trimmed spending. According to our estimates, 2Q23 was the third consecutive quarter of annual decline in private consumption in Poland. Some improvement should be visible towards the end of this year as CPI inflation moderates and real wage growth returns. Wages (June): 12.1% YoY Nominal wage growth stabilised at low double-digit levels and swings along additional payments in mining and energy sectors. We project wage pressure to continue over the medium term despite some deterioration in economic activity. Demographic trends are curbing the supply of labour and the gap has mostly been filled with immigrants. On top of that, the government has pursued sharp increases in minimum wages recently. In 2024, the minimum wage is proposed to go up by more than 20%. Employment (June): 0.4% YoY The level of employment in the enterprise sector has been moderating slightly in recent months and annual growth remains low. A cooling in manufacturing has reduced the demand for workers in some sectors. At the same time, unemployment remains at very low levels and the supply of labour is limited.

Dollar wavers post Chinese data 10-year Treasury yield down 2.3 points to 3.809% JPMorgan extends gains post Friday’s earnings US stocks are slightly higher after some disappointing Chinese GDP data raised concerns about the global economy but supported the argument that disinflation pressures are firmly in place.  The disinflation story won’t be going away after Ford announced some big cuts with their electric F-150 truck prices.  The disinflation process should remain intact and that should support calls that the Fed will be done after one more rate hike at the end of this month.  Wall Street is bracing for some big bank earnings that might not mirror what JPMorgan said last week. The key to the stock market remains the mega-cap tech trade and many traders won’t do any major positioning until we hear from Netflix and Tesla.     China’s slowdown dragged European stocks.  Another record high for China’s youth unemployment won’t do any favors for demand for European goods in the coming months.  China still expects growth around 5% to be reached but that will be hard unless the PBOC delivers more stimulus.    US Data The first Fed regional survey showed that NY state factory activity managed to stay in expansion territory, while prices paid fell to the lowest levels since August 2020.  The headline general business conditions index dropped 6 points to 1.1. The manufacturing sector is expected to rebound here despite a slight rise with new orders and as shipments expanded.  The report noted that optimism remained subdued and that capital spending will remain soft.      The rest of the Fed regional surveys will likely show overall weakness in the manufacturing sector, along with optimism that pricing pressures are easing.    

Eurozone PMI suggests worsening economic conditions The eurozone PMI suggests contracting economic activity at the start of the third quarter. Overall, this fits a trend of weakening survey indicators over recent months and increases the recession risk for the bloc. The survey continues to suggest moderating price pressures, but the impact of wages on services will remain a concern for ECB hawks. Survey data became progressively bleaker during the second quarter and the July PMI continues that trend. The June composite PMI stood at 49.9, broadly signalling stagnation, but in July the PMI dropped to 48.9, indicating contraction. Demand in the eurozone is falling for both goods and services according to the survey, with services new orders dropping for the first time in seven months while the decline in new orders for manufacturing steepened further. France and Germany look particularly bleak with output PMIs signalling contraction, which is offset slightly by the rest of the eurozone. We don’t have more details yet, but this could be due to more tourism-dependent economies profiting from a somewhat stronger summer period. Still, the positive tourism effect doesn't seem strong enough to counter weakening in the economy elsewhere. We have previously argued that the eurozone economy has been in a stagnation-type environment, and the recent two quarters of minimal negative GDP growth should not be taken as a broad recession given the strength of the labour market. The July PMI suggests that recession risk has increased though. With expectations of output weakening further, the outlook for the coming months is sluggish at best. The inflation picture coming from the survey is very similar to recent months. Price pressures are cooling, but more so for goods manufacturers than services providers. Rising wages continue to keep price pressures elevated for services, resulting in a slower downward trend. Dropping input costs are helping to bring inflation expectations down much faster for goods at the moment. This confirms our view of a materially lower inflation rate towards the end of the year but keeps hawkish concerns about the effect of wages on inflation alive.

Eurozone economy returns to positive growth but underlying weakness remains GDP growth beat expectations at 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in 2Q, but underlying weakness remains significant. For the data-dependent European Central Bank, this GDP reading will not be a dovish argument at the September meeting, leaving a further hike on the table.   After GDP declined in the fourth quarter and stagnated in the first, it increased by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter. This was better than expected but also boosted by very strong Irish activity, which is known to be volatile on the back of multinational accounting activity. Without Ireland, growth would have been halved. Looking through the most volatile components, we argue that the economy has remained broadly stagnant. Still, for the ECB this will not be the main argument to pause in September.   The buoyant reopening phase is behind us and the effects of high inflation, weak global demand and monetary tightening are resulting in a phase of sluggish economic activity. While the labour market continues to perform very well, a recession is never far away in this type of environment and remains a clear downside risk for the quarters ahead. The differences between countries are large in terms of performance. The German and Italian economies continue to suffer, in part because their manufacturing sectors are larger and demand for goods remains in contraction. Germany saw flat GDP growth quarter-on-quarter after two quarters of negative growth, while Italy dipped back to -0.3%. On the other hand, France and Spain continued to perform well. French GDP growth accelerated from 0.1 to 0.5%. Spain saw growth decelerate from 0.5 to 0.4%. Judging by the survey data we have so far on the third quarter, the risks are to the downside for the coming quarters. Manufacturing performance continues to slump as new orders continue to weaken and strong services performance is waning as reopening effects from the pandemic fade. With monetary tightening still expected to have its most dampening effect on growth later, continued broad stagnation of economic activity remains the most likely outcome for the coming quarters.

SecoWarwick group - business model SecoWarwick is a customer solution provider for high-tech industrial furnaces for the thermal processing of metals. Solutions are dedicated to customers in the automotive, aircraft, energy, medical, tooling, powder metallurgy or defense industries, among others. SecoWarwick specializes in energy-efficient and environmentally friendly equipment. The company provides access to defining technologies and new solutions, provides state-of-the-art control and data analysis systems, as well as professional services available in the world's most important metallurgical markets. The offer includes standard and dedicated solutions, delivery of equipment including technology and associated equipment, installation and commissioning, service support, technical and technological training, tests and research in industrial and laboratory conditions, analyses and simulations. SecoWarwick's solutions also include industrial furnaces for fire testing, vacuum equipment, precision test chambers, thermal processing systems, windscreen heating and molding production lines. A wide range of technologies, highly qualified engineers and customized solutions give the customer a competitive edge. Geographical presence Currently, SecoWarwick's largest sales market is the US (37% of sales) served by two local production facilities. Next is Europe (30% of sales), which is mainly supplied by plants in Poland. Asia is the third market (28% of sales), served by plants in China. In the future, the opening of production in India (currently sales & service; planned production later this year) and an increase in deliveries from China to Europe cannot be ruled out due to the appreciation of the PLN to the USD and generally rising operating costs (manufacturing costs, transport costs), especially in Europe. Geographical diversification is a considerable asset for SecoWarwick in mitigating performance volatility in response to business cycles. In 2022, exposure to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine was less than 5%. With the start of the war in Ukraine, SecoWarwick ceased contracting new orders in the Russian market      

US ISM reports remain consistent with GDP slowdown despite the construction boom Construction spending is performing strongly, but the ISM reports shows manufacturing has contracted for 10 consecutive months while next week's ISM services index is expected to post a headline reading consistent with the economy growing at a rate closer to 1% year-on-year rather than the 2.5% rate recorded in the second quarter.   ISM manufacturing index signals 10 months of contraction US ISM manufacturing index rose more than expected in August to stand at 47.6 versus 46.4 in July (consensus 47.0), but this is the tenth consecutive month it has come in below the break-even 50 level i.e. indicating contraction. The ISM surveys asks companies a range of questions on employment levels, orders, output, supplier delivery times and price pressures in order to come up with a broader picture of the state of the sector rather than measuring output alone such as in the industrial production report. The output index improved to 50 from 48.3, but new orders slipped back to 46.8. Prices paid moved higher to 48.4 from 42.6 but because this is below 50 it merely means that the rate of price declines are slowing rather than prices are moving higher. As such inflation pressures emanating from the manufacturing sector remain minimal and are consistent with goods consumer price inflation slowing closer to zero.     ISM reports suggest the economy is weaker than the GDP report has been signalling   Construction boom is a clear positive Meanwhile, construction spending rose 0.7% month-on-month versus the 0.5% consensus with June’s growth rate revised up to 0.6% from 0.5%. The housing market was a source of concern at the start of the year, but even with mortgage rates at 20-year highs and mortgage applications having halved, prices have stabilised and are now rising again nationally. Home supply has fallen just as sharply, with those homeowners locked in at 2.5-3.5% mortgage rates reluctant to sell and give up that cheap financing when moving to a different home and renting remains so expensive. This rise in property prices has boosted builder sentiment and lifted new home construction with residential construction rising 1.4% MoM in July after gains of 1.5% in June and 3.5% in May. Meanwhile, infrastructure projects under the umbrella of the Inflation Reduction Act are supporting non-residential construction activity, which posted the 14th consecutive monthly gain to stand 16.5% higher than 12 months ago.   Slower GDP growth ahead Construction is the stand out performer in the US right now, but next week's service sector ISM is predicted to slow to 52.4 from 52.7 and the combination of the two ISM series has historically been consistent with US GDP growth of 0-1% YoY, rather than the 2.5% the US posted in the second quarter (see chart). Just as the jobs report did earlier today, the ISM indices suggest little need for any further interest rate rises from the Federal Reserve.    

US The month started with a bang with the US jobs report but the following week is looking a little more subdued, starting with the bank holiday on Monday. Economic data is largely made up of revisions and tier-three releases. The exceptions being the ISM services PMI on Wednesday and jobless claims on Thursday. That said, revised productivity and unit labor costs on Thursday will also attract attention given the Fed’s obsession with input cost, wages in particular. We’ll also hear from a variety of Fed policymakers including Susan Collins on Wednesday (Beige Book also released), Patrick Harker, John Williams, and Raphael Bostic on Thursday, and Bostic again on Friday.  Eurozone Next week is littered with tier-three events despite the large number of releases in that time. Final inflation, GDP and PMIs, regional retail sales figures and surveys, and trade figures make up the bulk of next week’s reports. Not inconsequential, per se, but not typically big market events unless the PMI and CPI reports bring massive revisions. We will hear from some ECB policymakers earlier in the week which will probably be the highlight, including Christine Lagarde, Fabio Panetta, Philip Lane, and Isabel Schnabel. UK  Next week offers very little on the data front but the Monetary Policy Report Hearing in front of the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday is usually one to watch. While the committee’s views are typically quite polished by that point, the questioning is intense and can provide a more in-depth understanding of where the MPC stands on interest rates.  Russia Inflation in Russia is on the rise again and is expected to hit 5.1% on an annual basis in August, up from 4.3% in July. That is why the CBR has started raising rates aggressively again – raised to 12% from 8.5% on 15 August. Even so, the ruble is not performing well and isn’t too far from the August highs just before the superhike. We’ll hear from Deputy Governor Zabotkin on Tuesday, a few days before the CPI release. South Africa Further signs of disinflation in the PPI figures on Thursday will have been welcomed by the SARB but they won’t yet be declaring the job done despite the substantial progress to date. The focus next week will be on GDP figures on Tuesday, with 0.2% quarterly growth expected, and 1.3% annual. The whole economy PMI will be released earlier the same day. Turkey CPI inflation figures will be eyed next week, with annual price growth seen hitting 55.9%, up from 47.8% in July. The CBRT is all too aware of the risks, hence the surprisingly large rate hike – from 17.5% to 25% – last month. The currency rebounded strongly after the decision but it has been drifting lower since, falling back near the pre-meeting levels. There’s more work to be done. Switzerland Another relatively quiet week for the Swiss, with GDP on Monday – seen posting a modest 0.1% quarterly growth – and unemployment on Thursday, which is expected to remain unchanged. Neither is likely to sway the SNB when it comes to its next meeting on 21 September, with markets now favoring no change and a 30% chance of a 25 basis point hike. China Two key data to focus on for the coming week; the non-government compiled Caixin Services PMI for August out on Tuesday which is expected at 54, almost unchanged from July’s reading of 54.1. If it turns out as expected, it will mark the eighth consecutive month of expansion in China’s services sector which indicates resilience despite the recent spate of deflationary pressures and contagion risk from the fallout of major indebted property developers that failed to make timely coupon payments on their respective bonds obligations. Next up will be the balance of trade data for August on Thursday with export growth anticipated to decline at a slower pace of 10% y/y from -14.5% y/y recorded in July. Imports are expected to contract further by 11% y/y from -12.4% y/y in July.   Interestingly, several key leading economic data announced last week have indicated the recent doldrums in China will start to stabilize and potentially turn a corner. The NBS manufacturing PMI for August came in better than expected at 49.7 (consensus 49.4), and above July’s reading of 49.3 which makes it three consecutive months of improvement, albeit still in contraction.   In addition, two sub-components of August’s NBS manufacturing PMI; new orders and production are now in expansionary mode with both rising to hit their highest level since March 2023 at 50.2 and 51.9 respectively. Also, the Caixin manufacturing PMI for August has painted a more vibrant picture with a move back into expansion at 51 from 49.2 in July, and above the consensus of 49.3; its strongest pace of growth since February 2023. Hence, it seems that the current piecemeal fiscal stimulus measures have started to trickle down positively into China’s economy. India The services PMI for August will be released on Tuesday where the consensus is expecting a slight dip in expansion to 61 from 62.3 in July, its highest growth in over 13 years. Capping off the week will be August’s bank loan growth out on Friday. Australia The all-important RBA monetary policy decision will be released on Tuesday. A third consecutive month of no change in the policy cash rate is expected, at 4.1%, as the recently released monthly CPI indicator has slowed to 4.9% y/y from 5.4% y/y, its slowest pace of increase since February 2022 and below consensus of 5.2% y/y. Interestingly, the ASX 30-day interbank cash rate futures on the September 2023 contract have indicated a 14% chance of a 25-basis point cut on the cash rate to 3.85% for this coming Tuesday’s RBA meeting based on data as of 31 August 2023. That’s a slight increase in odds from a 12% chance of a 25-bps rate cut inferred a week ago. On Wednesday, Q2 GDP growth will be out where consensus is expecting it to come in at 1.7% y/y, a growth slowdown from 2.3% y/y recorded in Q1. To wrap up the week, the balance of trade for July will be out on Thursday where the consensus is expecting the trade surplus to narrow to A$10.5 billion from a three-month high of A$11.32 billion recorded in June.  New Zealand Two data to watch, Q2 terms of trade on Monday and the global dairy trade price index on Tuesday. Japan A quiet week ahead with the preliminary leading economic index out on Thursday and the finalized Q2 GDP to be released on Friday. The preliminary figure indicated growth of 6% on an annualized basis that surpassed Q1’s GDP of 3.7% and consensus expectations of 3.1%; its steepest pace of increase since Q4 2020 and a third consecutive quarter of annualized economic expansion. Singapore Retail sales for July will be out on Tuesday with another month of lackluster growth expected at 0.9% y/y from 1.1% y/y in June; its softest growth since July 2021 as the Singapore economy grappled with a weak external environment. On a monthly basis, a slower pace of contraction is expected for July at -0.1% m/m versus -0.8% m/m in June.  

Asia Morning Bites Higher for longer US rates trade takes its toll on Asian FX. Australia and China trade reports out.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  Market sentiment turned sour again yesterday, with stocks across the board dropping. The S&P 500 opened down and went lower over yesterday’s session, falling 0.7% from the previous day. The NASDAQ fell 1.06% and equity futures today are showing no respite. Chinese stocks also fell, though only slightly. The Hang Seng fell 0.04% and the CSI 300 fell just 0.22%. US bond yields pushed higher yesterday as the market continued to take out easing previously priced in for 2024/25. 2Y US Treasury yields rose 5.6bp while 10Y yields rose  2bp to 4.28%. EURUSD stayed at the low end of 1.07 on Wednesday. The AUD was also flat at about 0.6380 despite better-than-expected GDP data, as was the JPY at 147.71 despite comments from officials saying they would take action amid speculative market moves. Sterling dropped below 1.25 on suggestions from Governor Bailey that the rate tightening cycle in the UK was done, or if not, nearly done.  Asian FX sold off against the USD yesterday. The SGD unusually propped up the bottom of the list, weakening 0.27% to 1.3639. The CNY rose above 7.30 to reach 7.3180, and we would anticipate a forceful response from the PBoC at this morning’s fixing. G-7 macro:  The US services ISM index unexpectedly rose yesterday, rising to 54.5 from 52.7 (52.5 expected). There were also gains in the prices paid index, employment, and new orders. This is what drove the market to price out further easing next year, helping to lift the USD. The Fed’s latest Beige Book was somewhat downbeat given the ISM numbers. Today, there isn’t too much to look out for. US non-farm productivity and unit labour costs are both residuals from earlier GDP data and don’t really add to the sum of knowledge on the US economy. Weekly jobless claims are the only other US data of note. The Eurozone releases final GDP figures for 2Q23. No revisions are expected. China:  August trade figures will likely show a slight moderation in the pace of contraction, though it would be generous to describe this as a bounce. A trough might be a more accurate description. Still, that’s better than what has gone before, so it could buoy sentiment. The trade balance may shrink slightly despite this, from the $80.6bn figure from July. Australia:  A slight contraction in Australia’s AUD11.3bn trade surplus for July is also expected for the August figures published later this morning. This is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on the AUD, whose current weakness is more a function of broad USD strength.    What to look out for: China and Australia trade balance Australia trade balance (7 September) China trade balance (7 September) Malaysia BNM policy (7 September) US initial jobless claims (7 September) Japan GDP (8 September) Philippines trade balance (8 September) Taiwan trade balance (8 September) US wholesale inventories (8 September)

Eurozone PMI once again signals contraction in activity in September The PMI ticked up slightly from 46.7 to 47.1 in September. This is better than expected but does not ease concerns about a possible contraction in GDP in the second half of the year.   To be fair, the PMIs are getting harder to read at this point. The slight tick-up from last month does end a streak of four consecutive declines in the composite PMI, but it remains firmly in contraction territory. While better than analysts had expected, the overall picture remains rather bleak on economic growth and adds to contraction concerns. Still, at least today’s PMI indicates that the deterioration of conditions has stopped for the moment. Perhaps that’s the glass-half-full take because the underlying picture that the PMI paints is far from positive. The decline in demand is worsening as new orders fell at the fastest pace since late 2020. Manufacturing has performed poorly for quite some time, but the fact that services are the main contributor to the drop in new orders shows that the weakening of demand in the eurozone is becoming more broad-based. Businesses are still working off old orders at the moment, which is keeping output reasonable right now. Still, that suggests a weaker outlook for the months ahead. With hiring slowing to a snail’s pace, concerns about activity in the months ahead remain. Our base case is for a continuation of very slow growth, more or less stagnation, which means that a quarter of negative growth is certainly imaginable. The inflation picture is also getting more complicated. The surge in oil prices and high wage growth have caused input prices to increase again, which is mainly the case for the service sector. In manufacturing, input prices have turned deflationary. Still, the increase in service sector costs has not resulted in accelerated selling price inflation. Weaker demand is resulting in slowing selling prices in services and in outright drops in prices for manufacturing. Music to the ears of the European Central Bank, no doubt.

Q3'23 results preview In Q3'23, we assume a 9% y/y decline in sales revenues from a record Q3'22 base. We assume 13% lower y/y revenues in the Vacuum Furnace segment (Q3'22 historically record quarter) and a 27% y/y decline in the Aluminum Process (CAB) segment (effect of weaker sales in China - slight market saturation). The Vacuum Metalurgy and Aftersales segments will deliver similar y/y turnover in Q3'23 in our opinion. We estimate Q3'23 EBITDA at PLN 11mn, down 47% y/y, mainly due to an unusually high comparative base (Q3'22 saw high sales in the vacuum furnace and CAB segments and unusually high profitability in the vacuum segment; typically, Q3 is seasonally similar to Q2). In Q3'23, we assume a slight decline in gross profit from sales relative to the previous quarter, mainly due to weaker margins in CAB (lower revenues, especially at the company in China).     In our view, Seco Warwick will report a similar value of new orders won q/q and y/y, despite the observed strengthening of the PLN against the EUR and USD. We assume that the order backlog will remain above PLN 500mn at the end of Q3'23.

Hungarian industry runs on exports alone Although September brought some recovery in Hungarian industry, domestic demand is still limiting the overall performance. The silver lining is that the third quarter was good enough to take Hungary out of technical recession. Industry surprised on the upside in September, with output rising by 1.2% month-on-month, according to the latest release from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. This also means that, contrary to the expected deterioration, the year-on-year index for the working day adjusted indicator improved in September compared with August. Although the change in September can be seen as a positive development, the overall picture remains unimpressive, with production levels failing to reach the levels seen in July. Moreover, the level of industrial production is still hovering around the levels seen after the recovery from the Covid crisis.   Volume of industrial production   With the September data, we now have the performance for the third quarter as a whole as well. Our estimates show that industry grew by around 1.7% on a quarterly basis, meaning that the sector could have made a positive contribution to GDP growth in the third quarter. This raises the possibility that, after four quarters, we may see a positive quarter-on-quarter change in GDP, i.e. an end to the technical recession in Hungary.   Production level and quarterly performance of industry   Detailed data is yet to be released, but according to preliminary data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), there were no significant changes in the structure of industrial production. While the majority of sub-sectors contributed to the decline in output, the exceptions remain the manufacture of EV batteries and the car industry. The improved performance in September was thus due to export sectors returning to full capacity after the summer shutdowns. Moreover, the data suggests that the technical problem experienced by Volkswagen at the end of September did not lead to a production shortfall that would have dragged down the industry's performance.   Performance of Hungarian industry   In our view, as long as there is no lasting change in the economic environment, industrial production will hover around the levels of 2021-2022. This also means that we can expect industrial production to contract by around 5% for the year as a whole. In terms of risks regarding the outlook, there have been no significant changes over the past month. The clouds are gathering on the external demand side, i.e. on the side of the export-producing sectors, as European industrial performance continues to struggle to find its footing, while growth in China is still weak, which is hardly helping a recovery in world trade. Over the past two months, new orders in the manufacturing sector have contracted, and order books have also weakened. While the level of total orders in June was 10.6% higher on a yearly basis, we see the possibility of it falling into negative territory in September due to the high base. Turning to domestic factors, there are still no signs of a rapid pick-up in output growth in domestic demand (consumption and investment) in the short term.   Factors limiting production in Hungarian industry (% of respondents)   Looking at the end of this year and the outlook for 2024, there are some positives. Industrial companies will be able to renegotiate their energy contracts this winter at a much more favourable market price. This could lead to a significant reduction in their costs, which in turn could lead to a pick-up in production in sectors that are currently underperforming due to sunk costs (mostly sectors driven by domestic demand). This could also be helped by the fact that, as inflation moderates and household purchasing power recovers from the end of the year onwards, industrial sectors producing for the domestic market could receive some positive impetus not only from the supply side but also from the demand side, which could offset the initial weakening of industrial exports.    

Eurozone is likely in a shallow technical recession The November PMI does not provide much evidence that eurozone GDP growth will turn positive in the fourth quarter, but the good news is that the downturn is not deepening. We’re currently likely in a very shallow technical recession. The eurozone composite PMI ticked up from 46.5 to 47.1 in November, which still indicates a contraction in business activity. New orders continue to fall as backlogs of work are being depleted. This is more so the case for manufacturing, where the downturn is deeper than for services. Still, new orders fell slightly less in November than in October. This confirms the view that the downturn is not worsening at the moment, but there is little evidence of recovery either. Overall, it looks like this is a shallow technical recession. The employment outlook continues to deteriorate. Services job growth had kept overall employment growing up till now but the survey suggests that employment in this sector is now growing at a snail’s pace. With manufacturing shedding jobs, this is resulting in a marginal downturn. To us, this fits into the bigger picture of a labour market weakening on the back of a few quarters of negative growth. Inflation is on a solid downward trend, but the PMI indicates that input cost pressures remain and that selling price inflation ticked up in November compared to last month. This is mainly coming from services as prices in manufacturing continue to fall. This serves as a warning that inflation pressures are not over yet, even though inflation does continue to move in the right direction with demand having weakened materially.

Industry continues to decline in the eurozone, and the outlook is bleak The industrial production decline of -0.3% confirms the steady downward trend and adds to expectations of another contraction in eurozone GDP in the fourth quarter of last year. The outlook for industry remains bleak for the months ahead.   Eurozoeon Industrial Production dropped for the third month in a row in November, broadly continuing the trend of contraction in output. Production is now 7.2% lower than it was in September 2022. This means that industry will continue to weigh on economic activity in the eurozone, clearly performing much weaker than services. The eurozone economy experienced negative growth in the third quarter and could well have seen another quarter of negative growth in 4Q too. The industrial figures at least point to that. The outlook for eurozone industry remains pretty bleak at this point, according to surveys. New orders continue to deteriorate, albeit at a slower pace than a few months ago. And while producers are getting slightly more upbeat, we do not expect that a real turning point in production is likely in the coming months. And any input shortages coming from the Red Sea disruptions won't help. More importantly, demand would need to return and there is still very little evidence of that in the current weak global economy.  

Eurozone PMIs show very tentative signs of bottoming out The eurozone economy continues to trend around 0% growth and there are no signs of any imminent recovery. Price pressures are still increasing for the service sector, which provides another argument for the ECB not to hike before June. How you read today’s PMI release for the eurozone reveals whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. The increase from 47.6 to 47.9 in the composite PMI for January cautiously shows signs of bottoming out but also still indicates contraction. We also note that France and Germany saw declining PMIs, making the increase dependent on the smaller markets. Manufacturing price pressures remain moderate despite the Red Sea disruptions, but the service sector indicates another acceleration in input costs. To us, this shows that the eurozone economy remains in broad stagnation and that risks to inflation are not small enough to expect an ECB rate cut before June. The eurozone continues to be plagued by falling demand for goods and services, although new orders did fall at a slower pace than in recent months. Current production and activity were weaker than in recent months, though, suggesting that January started with contracting output still. The slowing pace of contracting orders does suggest that there is a bottoming out happening though. Whether this is enough to show positive GDP growth in the first quareter depends on February and March. In any case, GDP growth is so close to zero that we still qualify the current environment as broad stagnation anyway. The PMI continues to show some concern around inflation. Even though demand remains lacklustre, services cost pressures are on the rise again due to higher wage costs which are being transferred to consumers. Cost pressures on the goods side remain low despite Red Sea disruptions as energy prices trend lower and demand overall remains weak. This also means that goods inflation continues to trend down according to the survey. So, despite Red Sea problems prominently featuring in the news, inflation concerns currently stem more from services than goods, interestingly. For the ECB, enough worries about inflation not trending down to 2% quickly still remain. We think that makes a first cut before June unlikely.