Weekly Round-Up: 05/13/13 – 05/17/13

Weekly Round-Up: 05/13/13 – 05/17/13:

Industrial production in China came in slightly lower than expected

Retail Sales in China came in slightly lower than expected

US retails sales beat consensus, sales increased instead of decreased as expected

Business inventories missed consensus

Import prices decreased more than expected, export prices were in line with consensus

Producer prices declined and which was in line with consensus

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey missed estimates and unexpectedly contracted

Industrial production declined more than expected    

The housing market report was in line with consensus and higher than the previous reading

Japanese GDP came in higher than expected

Consumer prices declined more than expected

Housing starts took an unexpected month over month dip; housing permits came in higher than expected

Jobless claims missed consensus by a large margin

The Philly Fed Survey took an unexpected dip and missed consensus

Consumer sentiment was better than expected

    

 

Commentary

This week was mixed. The reports that did miss consensus were regionally and didn't merit significant attention. The housing starts report was mixed. Although housing starts took an unexpected dip in April, relative to last month’s reading, housing permits still beat consensus and the previous reading by a large margin. Industrial production and retail sales in china missed, but they only missed by a slight margin. Japan’s GDP was a win for prime minster Shinzo Abe. The report came in higher than expected and it was led by consumption.

Overall, last week’s reports were not horrid. The reports that missed didn’t warrant any reversal in the current trend for risk assets.