Economy.com Daily Update: November 15, 2021

Today's Economy

A combination of rising inflation, fiscal wrangling, and political uncertainty may darken the nation’s near-term prospects.

Why should businesses be interested in climate change?

Weak exports and strong imports have driven the surplus down.

China's latest economic data were a mixed bag.

Commentary

We look for retail sales to see an increase because of higher prices.

Inflation continues to make headlines and consumers are taking notice.

But the variant of COVID-19 still holds sway over the economy.

Against a background of regional inflation, Chile’s economy is hot while Mexico and Brazil are cooler.

Today's Economic Indicators

Finland
Consumer Price Index
Oct. 2021: 3.2% y/y
Finland’s headline CPI accelerated to 3.2% y/y in October from 2.5% in September, reaching its highest level this year.

Finland
Retail Sales
Sep. 2021: 0.1% m/m
Finland's seasonally adjusted retail sales, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles, stood at 0.1% m/m for the second consecutive month after the downwardly revised reading in August.

Sweden
Consumer Price Index
Oct. 2021: 2.8% y/y
Sweden’s headline inflation rate rose to 2.8% y/y from 2.5%.

Euro Zone
External Trade
Sep. 2021: €7.3 bil
The euro zone’s trade surplus in goods plunged to €7.3 billion in September from €24.1 billion a year earlier.

Belgium
Industrial Production
Sep. 2021: 23.6% y/y
Belgium's industrial production index advanced by a robust 23.6% in September on a year-ago basis.

Canada
Survey of Manufacturing
Sep. 2021: -3.0% m/m
Manufacturing’s struggles resumed in September with a larger stumble than in recent months.

Canada
New Motor Vehicle Sales
Sep. 2021: 19.0% y/y
Purchases of cars and trucks in Canada fell for the third consecutive month in September.

Canada
Wholesale Trade
Sep. 2021: 1.0% m/m
Rising prices and volumes are pushing wholesale trade higher.

United States
NY Empire State Manufacturing Survey
Nov. 2021: 30.9
New York's manufacturers are faring a bit better than expected, according to the most recent Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

India
Foreign Trade
Oct. 2021: -US$19.7 bil
India’s merchandise trade deficit moderated in October, slipping from a record $22.6 billion in September to $19.7 billion.

Peru
Unemployment
Oct. 2021: 9.6%
The job market in metropolitan Lima outdid our expectations in the August to October rolling quarter, the first sure sign that the recovery is back on track after the spring COVID-19 wave and summertime political ructions.

World
Moody's Analytics Global GDP
2021Q2: 3.6% q/q SAAR
Global growth accelerated slightly in the second quarter of the year as vaccination rates in the developed world picked up, allowing for the loosening of restrictions in North America and Europe.

World
Moody's Analytics Survey of Business Confidence
November 12: 11.8
Abstracting from the weekly ups and downs of responses to the global business survey, business sentiment remains stuck consistent with a slowly recovering global economy.

United States
Cox Automotive/Moody’s Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index
Oct. 2021: 42.4 weeks, NSA
In October, new-vehicle affordability declined for the seventh consecutive month.