Economy.com Daily Update: January 28, 2021

Today's Economy

GDP growth fell short of our expectations because of a smaller inventory build.

The region is dealing with logistical problems in implementing an efficient rollout of inoculations.

Surging demand in Asia for natural gas will help reduce budget deficits for Oman, Qatar and the UAE.

The country's consumer confidence index improved in the final month of 2020.

Commentary

States that struggled early on drove December's return to job losses.

The rapidly expanding consumer market plays an increasingly important role in attracting investments.

Thanks to expected federal efforts, employment will return to its prerecession peak by mid-2023.

Economic recovery will gain momentum through the year, supported by the vaccine rollout.

Today's Economic Indicators

Spain
Unemployment
2020Q4: 16.1%
The Spanish labor market finished off the year a little better.

Euro Zone
Business and Consumer Sentiment
Jan. 2021: 91.5
The euro zone's economic sentiment indicator, which combines subindexes of business and consumer confidence, slid to 91.5 in January from an upwardly revised reading of 92.4 in December.

Brazil
Employment Situation
Nov. 2020: 14.1%
Brazil’s unemployment continued to decline in November as the economy’s recovery advanced steadily.

Canada
Earnings, Hours and Employment
Nov. 2020: 6.6%
Payroll employment slipped in November by 79,500, marking a 0.5% contraction and the first one since May.

Canada
Building Permits
Dec. 2020: -4.1%
Residential permitting had a rough month in December after a streak of healthy gains.

United States
Advance Wholesale and Retail Inventories
Dec. 2020: 0.1%
Wholesale trade inventories inched up 0.1% in December after stockpiles were unchanged in November.

United States
International Trade in Goods - Advanced
Dec. 2020: -$82.5 bil
The nominal U.S. goods deficit narrowed by $3 billion in December, from $85.5 billion to $82.5 billion.

United States
Jobless Claims
January 23: 847,000
U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits dropped by 67,000 to 847,000 in the week ended January 23.

United States
GDP
2020Q4: 4%
U.S.

United States
Bankruptcy Filings
2020Q4: -38.6%
Personal bankruptcy filings remained low in the fourth quarter as the benefits of stimulus payments, increased unemployment insurance, and lender forbearance continued to support household finances, if to a declining degree.

Russian Federation
Unemployment
Dec. 2020: 5.9%

Mexico
Trade Balance
Dec. 2020: US$6,262 mil
Mexico's trade balance ended the year in positive territory as exports continued to benefit from the U.S. recovery.

United States
New-Home Sales
Dec. 2020: 842,000
The U.S. housing market ended 2020 on solid footing, but the new-home market has cooled from a few months ago.

United States
St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index
January 22: -0.74
The St.

United States
Conference Board Leading Indicators
Dec. 2020: 0.3%
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index increased by 0.3% in December, marking a moderate deceleration from November's revised gain of 0.7%.

United States
Natural Gas Storage Report
January 22: -128 bil cubic feet
A smaller-than-expected draw in natural gas inventories will represent a small hiccup for gas prices.

United States
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey
Jan. 2021: 17
Manufacturing activity accelerated in the Kansas City Fed District, with the composite index rising 3 points to a reading of 17 in January. Expectations for future activity also continue to improve.

Russian Federation
Retail Sales
Dec. 2020: -3.6%
Russian retail continued to tumble in December.

Russian Federation
Unemployment
Dec. 2020: 5.9%
Russia's unemployment rate came in at 5.9% in December.

South Korea
Industrial Production
Dec. 2020:

South Korea
Retail Sales
Dec. 2020:

Japan
Employment Situation
Dec. 2020:

Japan
Industrial Production
Dec. 2020:

Japan
Foreign Trade
Dec. 2020:

China
Manufacturing PMI
Jan. 2021:

Malaysia
Foreign Trade
Dec. 2020: