Economy.com Daily Update: May 25, 2021

Today's Economy

After jumping in the second half of the year, new-home sales have edged lower.

Reports say about 60% of total transactions in the economy are currently done in dollars.

Although the wider VIX-implied spread for corporate bonds hasn't materialized.

Lockdown and supply bottlenecks threw off the German recovery.

Commentary

German biotech company CureVac expects to see its new mRNA vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency this week.

Growth is poised to pick up, but prices bear watching.

Twenty-three states will end the $300 weekly supplement in either June or July.

New divides are emerging within the region, and the pace of economic recovery is at risk from new Covid-19 variants.

Today's Economic Indicators

Singapore
Industrial Production
Apr. 2021: 2.1% y/y
Singapore's industrial production grew by 2.1% y/y in April, following a stronger 7.6% increase in March.

Finland
Unemployment rate
Apr. 2021: 9.0%
Finland’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9% in April, compared with 8% a year earlier.

Germany
GDP
2021Q1: -1.8% q/q
Final estimates showed that Germany’s GDP contracted by 1.8% q/q, slightly worse than the 1.7% initially estimated.

Austria
Industrial Production
Mar. 2021: 2.4%
Austria’s goods-producing sector continued its upward trend in March, with industrial production growing for the third consecutive month.

Indonesia
Monetary Policy
May. 2021: 3.50%
Bank Indonesia held its seven-day reverse repo rate unchanged at 3.5% during the May meeting, as expected, to balance currency stability and growth support.

Mexico
Trade Balance
Apr. 2021: US$1,500.6 mil
Mexico's trade balance reported a positive result in April as oil revenues expanded.

United States
Philadelphia Fed Nonmanufacturing Survey
May. 2021: 22.1
The Philadelphia Fed’s Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey shows activity expanded further in May.

United States
S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller® Home Price Indexes
Mar. 2021: 13.3% y/y
House price appreciation accelerated again in March, as measured by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index.

United States
FHFA Purchase-Only House Price Index
Mar. 2021: 13.9% y/y
The Federal Housing Finance Agency Purchase-Only House Price Index jumped 13.9% on a year-ago basis in March from 12.2% the previous month.

Russian Federation
Unemployment
Apr. 2021: 5.2%
Russia's unemployment rate came in at 5.2% in April, beating market expectations of a 5.4% reading.

United States
New-Home Sales
Apr. 2021: 863,000 SAAR
New-home sales cooled in April as homebuilders contend with rising construction costs, labor-supply issues, and a backlog of homes under construction.

United States
Richmond Fed Manufacturing Survey
May. 2021: 18
Factory conditions in the Fifth Federal Reserve District continued to improve in May.

United States
Conference Board Consumer Confidence
May. 2021: 117.2
U.S. consumer confidence slipped in May, but consumers turned noticeably more upbeat about the state of the labor market.

United States
Moody’s Analytics Policy Uncertainty Index
May 21: 340.5
The four-week moving average in our U.S. policy uncertainty index fell from 347 to 340.5 in the week ended May 21.

Russian Federation
Industrial Production
Apr. 2021: 7.2%
The rebound in industrial production in Russia accelerated in April.