Macro roundup: Sleepless nights
New arrivals; economic sentiment slips behind rest of eurozone; retail sales fall
Today’s newsletter will be just a quick rundown of the macroeconomic numbers out this week, since the latest addition to the family arrived on Tuesday morning and has been keeping me occupied since.
The economic sentiment indicator for Greece dipped in September. Sentiment picked up for the euro-area as a whole, rising above Greece’s level for the first time since 2019.
IHS Markit’s manufacturing PMI for September came in at exactly 50, the level signifying no change in output. It’s the first time since February that it wasn’t at a level signifying contraction. Greece’s PMI is faring worse than the eurozone as a whole, which is at a two-year high.
Retail sales decreased 3 percent in July from a year earlier, a slight improvement on June when the index dropped 3.3 percent. Automotive fuel was the main component driving the index down, falling 20.1 percent in July.
Normal service should resume next week.
If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider sharing it with others who might also like it.
Next week’s key data
Wednesday:
August commercial transactions (Elstat)
Thursday:
July unemployment (Elstat)
Friday:
September consumer price index (Elstat)
August industrial production (Elstat)
Elsewhere on the web
Georgia Nakou takes a deep dive into what’s going on with the housing market over at MacroPolis
Jean Pisani-Ferry on Europe’s recovery gamble
I’d love to get your thoughts and feedback, either in the comments, on Twitter or by reply if you received the newsletter by email. If you’re not subscribed yet, consider doing so now.