FINANCIAL NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

  • A light week on economic data was filled with Fed speeches and a trickle of news flow on the upcoming meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi. We do not expect to see a major breakthrough this weekend, but rather an agreement to continue talking (forestalling at least for now the threat of additional tariffs).
  • Chair Powell reiterated comments in his press conference last week that crosscurrents to the economic outlook had arisen relatively swiftly over the past month, leading the Fed to shift toward an increased willingness to cut rates.
  • Economic data was mixed, with home sales and confidence falling, but consumer spending rising. With revisions, second quarter personal consumption is likely to top 3% annualized, enough to push economic growth to the 2% mark.


Presidents Xi and Trump Meet As Crosscurrents Blow

Financial News- New Home Sales Fall Sharply in May It was a relatively light week on economic data but heavy on Fed communication and key political events. All eyes will be on the G20 meeting this weekend, where Presidents Trump and Xi will meet on Saturday in Osaka to discuss U.S.-China trade relations.

Following the FOMC meeting last week, Fed speakers were out in full force explaining and defending the committee’s shift from patience to willingness to do more. Most notably, Chairman Powell reiterated that significant crosscurrents had hit the U.S. outlook in the period between the FOMC’s May and June decision. Among these, deteriorating business sentiment and slowing global growth rang the loudest.

Powell did not mention it explicitly, but the breakdown in trade negotiations between China and the U.S. was a key driver of the change in tack. That puts the focus squarely on the leaders of the two countries as they meet in Japan this weekend. Prior to the meeting, optimism that the two sides were getting close to a deal were stoked by Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, who said they were 90% of the way there. But, just as soon as he said this, doubt was cast by President Trump’s own interview that dangled the possibility of additional tariffs. At the same time, reports that China would come to the meeting with preconditions of its own, including the removal of all existing tariffs and restrictions imposed on Huawei, reined in optimism that a significant breakthrough is imminent. All in all, we expect little to come out of the meeting except an agreement to keep on talking.

Financial News- Consumer Spending Returning to Form in Q2On the economic data front, the message was mixed. New home sales fell sharply in May, adding to the spate of challenging data for the housing sector (Chart 1). While lower mortgage rates should give some support to housing demand, this may be offset in part by increased economic uncertainty, leading would-be homebuyers to hold off on making big purchases. Indeed, measures of consumer confidence fell in May, with a drop in expectations for the future leading the pullback.

On the bright side, consumer spending is still holding up. Real personal consumption rose by 0.2% in May, and was revised up to 0.2% growth in April from a previously flat reading. With two of three months of the second quarter now recorded, spending growth looks to advance by well over 3% (annualized – Chart 2). Even with some weakness in investment and trade, second quarter economic growth appears likely to come in near the 2% mark.

Evidence that economic growth is holding up suggests that even as the Fed considers insurance cuts, it need not have to bring out the bazooka. While a 25-basis point cut in July seems increasingly likely, the Fed should be able to afford to save at least some of its bullets and refrain from a larger 50-basis point cut, as futures markets have begun to price. Still, we would hold off betting the farm on it until after next week’s June payroll report.

James Marple, Senior Economist | 416-982-2557


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