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[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC NEWS PREVIEW: UK INFLATION DATA DUE



Consumer and producer prices from the UK are due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases UK consumer and producer prices for January. Consumer price inflation is forecast to ease to 10.3 percent from 10.5 percent in December.

Economists forecast UK output prices to grow 13.3 percent in January from the last year, slower than the 14.7 percent increase in December. Likewise, input price inflation is seen easing to 14.7 percent from 16.5 percent.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain's INE publishes final consumer and harmonized prices for January. Inflation is forecast to rise slightly to 5.8 percent, as initially estimated, from 5.7 percent in December.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat publishes euro area industrial production and foreign trade figures. Industrial output is expected to fall 0.8 percent on month, reversing November's 1.0 percent increase. The trade deficit is seen widening to EUR 12.5 billion in December from EUR 11.7 billion in November.

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[IFX Gertrude]

DUTCH JOBLESS RATE RISES SLIGHTLY TO 3.6%



The Netherlands' unemployment rate increased slightly in January from a six-month low in December, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted ILO jobless rate for the 15-75 year old age group rose to 3.6 percent in January from 3.5 percent in December. In the corresponding month last year, the unemployment rate was also 3.6 percent.

The number of unemployed increased to 360,000 in January, up from 352,000 the previous month.

The youth unemployment rate, which applies to the 15 to 25 age group, climbed to 7.8 percent in January from 7.5 percent in the prior month.

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[IFX Gertrude]

SWISS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION EXPANDS 6.1% IN Q4



Switzerland's industrial production continued to expand strongly in the fourth quarter on the back of sharp growth in the manufacturing sector, while construction output contracted, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Friday.

Industrial production rose 6.1 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than the 6.0 percent rise in the third quarter.

Production in the manufacturing sector grew 7.9 percent, while the mining and quarrying segment logged a negative growth of 3.0 percent. Electricity supply also slumped 10.3 percent.

Secondary sector production, which combines industry and construction, grew 4.1 percent annually in the December quarter, following a 3.7 percent gain in the September quarter.

Meanwhile, construction output declined 5.5 percent, slower than the 8.8 percent plunge in the preceding three-month period. Industrial turnover advanced 8.7 percent in the fourth quarter and construction turnover rose 2.7 percent.

The growth in production and turnover has been uninterrupted since the first quarter 2021, the agency said.

In December, industrial production climbed 8.6 percent year-on-year, following a 1.0 percent growth in November.

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[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC NEWS PREVIEW: BUNDESBANK MONTHLY REPORT DUE



A monthly report from Germany's central bank is the only major data due on Monday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Statistics Sweden is scheduled to issue consumer prices for January. Consumer price inflation is forecast to ease to 11.8 percent from 12.3 percent in December.

At 4.00 am ET, industrial production, producer prices and employment figures are due from Poland. Industrial production is seen growing 4.3 percent annually in January after rising 1.0 percent in December. Economists forecast producer price inflation to slow to 18.5 percent from 20.4 percent a month ago.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat releases euro area construction output data for December.

At 6.00 am ET, Germany's central bank is set to publish the February edition of the Monthly Report that comments on the economic situation during the winter 2022/23.

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[IFX Gertrude]

European stock indices decline moderately during trading



The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 by 12:33 GMT + 3 fell by 0.05% and amounted to 464.09 points.

The British stock index FTSE 100 fell by less than 0.1%, the German DAX - by 0.24%, the French CAC 40 - by 0.31%. The Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 lost 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.

Trading activity in world markets is expected to be lower than usual on Monday due to the celebration of Presidents Day in the US.

Stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong rose sharply on Monday on news that the People's Bank of China kept its one-year Loan Prime Rate at 3.65% and the five-year lending rate at 4.3%. per annum.

People's Bank of China has not changed rates for six meetings in a row. At the same time, many economists believe that in the coming months the rate may be lowered to stimulate economic growth, writes Bloomberg.

On Wednesday evening, the minutes of the last Fed meeting will be made public, at which the key interest rate was raised by 25 basis points.

Investors are particularly looking forward to the minutes as several Fed officials, including the heads of the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and St. Louis, said last week that they were calling for a sharper rate hike.

Shares of Pernod Ricard SA rose 0.1%. One of the world's largest producers of alcoholic beverages announced the start of a new stage of the share buyback program. The purchase of securities in the amount of up to 300 million euros will take place before April 6 and will be carried out as part of a total program of 750 million euros.

Stellantis and Pirelli are up 2%, leading gains on the Milan bourse, while Telecom Italia shares are down 2.9%.

Capitalization of the British retailer Frasers Group rose by 3.5% after the company announced a share buyback worth up to 80 million pounds ($96.26 million).

Quotes of Commerzbank AG fall by 2.7%. As reported, the shares of Germany's second-largest bank will be included in the calculation of the main German stock index DAX 40 from February 27 instead of the papers of the chemical company Linde, according to a report by Deutsche Boerse AG, operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange.

French supermarket chain Carrefour jumped 8% in market value to lead growth in the Stoxx Europe 600 index. The retailer reported annual revenue of more than 90 billion euros and recorded an 11% increase in like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter of last year.

The decline leader in the Stoxx Europe 600 is Raiffeisen Bank International, shedding 7.6%, while the gainer was led by French medical equipment maker Orpea S.A., which jumped 17.7%.

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[IFX Gertrude]

NEW ZEALAND SOFTENS MONETARY POLICY TIGHTENING



New Zealand's central bank raised its benchmark rate by a half percentage point on Wednesday, following a 75 basis-point hike in November, as policymakers assessed that the upside risks to inflation has moderated since the last meeting.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted the Official Cash Rate to 4.75 percent from 4.25 percent.

Previously, the bank had hiked the OCR by 75 basis points in November, which was the ninth consecutive hike. The interest rate was lifted by 450 basis points since October 2021.

Although members discussed increases of 50 and 75 basis points at the February meeting, they observed that the balance of risks around inflation remain skewed to the upside but the extent of the risk had moderated somewhat since the November Statement.

"A a 50 basis point move balanced the need to ensure core inflation and inflation expectations fall, against the early signs that demand was beginning to moderate towards the economy's productive capacity," the bank said.

Members noted the long lags of monetary policy transmission to the economy. They agreed that the interest rate needs to reach a level where the MPC could be confident that it would reduce actual inflation to within the target range over the forecast horizon. Signaling further tightening, the bank said higher interest rates are required to sustainably bring down inflation and support maximum sustainable employment.

Regarding the Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events, policymakers said it is too early to estimate the full economic impact. The committee decided to look through the short-term direct price pressures stemming from these extreme weather events, and focus on the medium-term impacts.

As the coming recession will be a little deeper than the central bank is anticipating, the RBNZ is likely to stop at 5.25 percent, Marcel Thieliant, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

The interest rate cuts could happen as soon as the end of this year rather than the second half of next year as signaled by the Bank today, the economist added.

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[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC NEWS PREVIEW: EUROZONE FINAL INFLATION DATA DUE



Final inflation from the euro area is the only major statistical report due on Thursday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 3.00 am ET, final consumer prices data from Austria is due. The flash estimate showed that consumer price inflation rose to 11.1 percent in January from 10.2 percent in December.

At 4.00 am ET, unemployment data is due from Poland. The jobless rate is forecast to rise to 5.5 percent in January from 5.2 percent in December.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat releases euro area final inflation data for January. The statistical office is set to confirm 8.5 percent inflation, which was up from 9.2 percent in December. Core inflation was seen at 5.2 percent, unchanged from December, and in line with preliminary estimate.

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[IFX Gertrude]

JAPAN CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION AT 41-YEAR HIGH



Japan's consumer price inflation accelerated further in January to hit a fresh 41-year high, adding pressure on the central bank to withdraw its massive monetary stimulus.

Core inflation that excludes volatile fresh food climbed to 4.2 percent in January from 4.0 percent in the previous month, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Friday.

The rate was the fastest since September 1981 and matched economists' expectations. Headline inflation rose to 4.3 percent from 4.0 percent in December. The 4.3 percent was the strongest since December 1981. Inflation has remained above the 2 percent target for the tenth straight month.

Excluding fresh food and energy, inflation advanced to 3.2 percent from 3.0 percent in the previous month.

Fresh food prices advanced to 7.2 percent from 4.9 percent. Meanwhile, growth in energy prices slowed to 14.6 percent from 15.2 percent a month ago.

On a monthly basis, overall consumer prices gained 0.4 percent, following December's 0.3 percent increase.

With government energy subsidies taking effect from this month, inflation is expected to fall below the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target by mid-year, Capital Economics' economist Darren Tay, said. At the January monetary policy meeting, the BoJ left its yield curve control and negative interest rates unchanged.

At the parliamentary hearing on Friday, BoJ Governor nominee Kazuo Ueda said it would be appropriate to continue monetary easing measures. Markets widely expect a policy change under the governorship of Ueda.

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[IFX Gertrude]

AUSTRALIA COMPANY OPERATING PROFITS JUMP 10.6% IN Q4



Australia's company gross operating profits surged a seasonally adjusted 10.6 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

That blew away expectations for an increase of 1.5 percent following the upwardly revised 11.5 percent decline in the three months prior (originally -12.5 percent).

Business inventories eased 0.2 percent on quarter, in line with forecasts following the 1.7 percent increase in the previous three months.

Wages and salaries rose 2.6 percent on quarter.

On a yearly basis, operating profits jumped16.0 percent, inventories gained 5.9 percent and wages advanced 11.6 percent.

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[IFX Gertrude]

JAPAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION SINKS 4.6% IN JANUARY



Industrial production in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 4.6 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday.

That was shy of expectations for a decline of 2.6 percent following the 0.3 percent increase in December.

On a yearly basis, industrial output fell 2.3 percent after skipping 2.4 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI downgraded its assessment of industrial production, saying that it has

Shipments were down 3.1 percent on month and 2.4 percent on year, while inventories fell 0.9 percent on month and gained 3.2 percent on year. The inventory ratio advanced 2.5 percent on month and 9.6 percent on year.
According to the METI's forecast of industrial production, output is expected to jump 8.0 percent in February and rise 0.7 percent in March.

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