Eurozone economic sentiment weakened unexpectedly in June primarily driven by reduced confidence in industry and retail trade, a monthly survey data from the European Commission showed on Friday.
The economic confidence index fell to 94.0 in June from 94.8 in May. The score was forecast to rise to 95.1.
The industrial confidence index posted -12.0 in June, down from -10.4 a month ago. The reading was seen at -9.9. This fall was driven by declines across all three components, namely managers’ assessments of the current level of order books, stocks of finished products, and production expectations.
Due to deterioration in retailers’ assessment of the volume of stocks and their business expectations for the next three months, the retail trade confidence index fell to -7.5 from -7.2.
Likewise, the consumer confidence indicator dropped to -15.3, in line with the flash estimate, from -15.1 in May.
By contrast, the services sentiment index rose unexpectedly to 2.9 in June from 1.8 in March. The expected reading was 1.6.
Similarly, fuelled by builders’ employment expectations, the contractors’ sentiment index improved to -2.8 from -3.5.
Among the largest EU economies, the ESI dropped most significantly in France, followed by Spain and Germany. Conversely, the ESI remained broadly stable in Italy.
Japan’s retail sales growth eased to a three-month low in May and the unemployment remained stable, official data revealed on Friday.
Retail sales grew 2.2 percent on a yearly basis, slower than the 3.5 percent increase seen in April, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. This was the slowest growth in three months. Sales were forecast to grow 2.4 percent in May.
Month-on-month, retail sales fell 0.2 percent in May, in contrast to the 0.7 percent increase seen a month ago.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported. The figure also matched expectations.
The number of unemployed increased 720,000 from a year ago to 68.38 million. This was the 34th consecutive month of increase.
Another report from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that inflation in Japan’s capital softened to a three-month low of 3.1 percent in June from 3.4 percent in May.
Tokyo core inflation that excludes fresh food and energy, eased to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent in the previous month.
China industrial profits declined notably in May as tariff tensions damped activity, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.
Industrial profits decreased 9.1 percent in May from a year ago. In the January to May period, industrial profits declined 1.1 percent from the same period last year.
The NBS reportedly said that operating revenue grew 2.7 percent. The steady growth is set to underpin a continued profit recovery in the coming months, the statistical office said.
Beijing aims to achieve growth of “around 5 percent” this year. But the International Monetary Fund forecast China to expand only 4 percent in 2025.
Despite the truce in the Middle East, crude oil posted gains on Friday in the wake of the US confirming readiness to sign trade deals with China and multiple other trading partners and indications of strong summer demand in the US.
WTI Crude Oil closed up by $0.28 to settle at $65.52 per barrel today.
August month Brent Crude was last seen trading up $0.18, to $67.91 per barrel today.
Oil prices initially surged on Monday after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites last weekend but plummeted after the US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire.
The anxiety about a long-lasting Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and Iran, which could have triggered a major supply crisis, has now faded due to the truce, which has been holding so far with no reports of violations by either side.
During the 12-day war, much of the risk-premium associated with oil which drove it to record high prices was due to the threat of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz. As much as 20% of global oil transit takes place through this strait.
As that threat has disappeared, investors are focused on pricing based on demand-supply fundamentals. As of now, globally supply is more than the demand.
A report from the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday revealed that crude and oil inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels last week. Along with this, the high demand foreseen in the US due to the summer travel season also contributed to today’s earlier price rise.
Oil and energy traders are now focused on the upcoming July 6th meeting of OPEC+, where another hike in production by 411,000 bpd is likely to be approved.
The organization is keen on grabbing market share as production in North America and South America is increasing. Reports suggest that Russia, a key member, may agree to ramp up production.
Gold fell sharply on Friday, slipping to a nearly one-month low as investors move to riskier assets amid a backdrop of easing geopolitical tensions.
Front Month Comex Gold for July plunged $60.20 (or 1.8%) to $3,273.70 per troy ounce today. Gold lost around 2.9% this week.
Front Month Comex Silver for July fell 55.40 cents (or 1.5%) today to $36.037 per troy ounce.
In a significant trade development today, the world’s two major economic partners, the US and China, made further progress on the trade agreement announced by the countries last month in Geneva. Specifically, China has agreed to deliver much-needed rare earth minerals to the US.
A White House official said the US and China have agreed to “an additional understanding of a framework to implement the Geneva agreement.”
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce subsequently said the two sides have “confirmed the details of the framework.”
The spokesperson said Washington would lift “restrictive measures,” while Beijing would “review and approve” items under export controls.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg that 10 other deals with multiple other countries are coming up, suggesting a shift from the previous rigid stance on trade policies.
This news brought cheers to investors across the world, triggering a rally in the US financial markets and leading to a slump by gold.
On the data front, according to the numbers released by the US Commerce Department, consumer spending that accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity edged down 0.1% last month to $21.441 trillion, suggesting the dent on consumer’s appetite brought on by tariffs.
The Commerce Department also said personal income fell by 0.4 percent in May after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7 percent in April.
Additionally, the report said the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index inched up by 0.1 percent in May, matching the uptick seen in April as well as economist estimates.
The annual rate of growth by the PCE price index accelerated to 2.3 percent in May from 2.2 percent in April, which also matched expectations.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.2 percent in May after inching up by 0.1 percent in April. Economists had expected another 0.1 percent uptick.
The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index also accelerated to 2.7 percent in May from an upwardly revised 2.6 percent in April.
Economists had expected annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index to tick up to 2.6 percent from the 2.5 percent originally reported for the previous month.
Following today’s inflation data, all eyes are on the Fed’s decision on interest rates in the coming weeks.
Interest rates have been kept unchanged by the Fed 4.25% to 4.50% since December. High interest makes gold less favorable.
Canada’s annual inflation rate in May was unchanged from the previous month at 1.7 per cent as drop in gasoline costs continued to keep the overall index stable while prices of shelter, food and transportation also cooled, data showed on Tuesday.
Those fears have not been reflected in the headline consumer price index as a tax removal on gasoline prices from April is expected keep the cost at the pump down for a year.
Lower interest rates have also consistently eased mortgage costs and lower demand has forced rents to come down for the last several months.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected annual inflation in May to be at 1.7 per cent and monthly inflation at 0.5 per cent.
StatsCan said inflation in May on a monthly basis was at 0.6 per cent, largely led by a seasonal increase in travel, accommodation and energy costs.
Gasoline prices decelerated by 15.5 per cent in May after falling by 18.1 per cent in April on an annual basis, the statistics agency said.
The cost of shelter component of the CPI, which has a biggest weight at 30 per cent in the overall basket, grew by 3 per cent in May, down from 3.4 per cent in April, as both mortgage interest costs and rents eased last month.
The Bank of Canada closely-tracks core measures of inflation – CPI-trim and CPI-median – and both of them eased to 3 per cent, which is the upper band of the central bank’s 1 per cent to 3 per cent inflation target range.
CPI-median is the centermost component of the CPI basket when arranged in an order of increasing prices and CPI-trim, excludes the most extreme price changes.
The May inflation data is a critical number which will feed into BoC’s rates decision on July 30. It will also get the June inflation data before its next rates decision.
If inflation continue to be low, it could tilt the bank towards a rate cut.
After cutting rates aggressively and consistently for nine months since June last year by 225 basis points to 2.75 per cent, it has paused its rate reduction cycle at its last two meetings especially due to the uncertainty hanging around tariffs.
Money markets are betting around 63 per cent chance of yet another hold by the central bank of its policy rate at 2.75 per cent on July 30, when it also releases its monetary policy report.
OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says retail sales rose 0.3 per cent to $70.1 billion in April, helped by gains in sales at new and used car dealers.
However, the agency says its preliminary figures for May point to a drop of 1.1 per cent for that month.
For April, six of nine subsectors were up as sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers gained 1.9 per cent, boosted by a 2.9 per cent increase at new car dealer and a 2.1 per cent rise at used car dealers.
Sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers rose 1.0 per cent, while furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers gained 0.8 per cent. Sales at clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers fell 2.2 per cent.
Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, gained 0.1 per cent in April.
In volume terms, overall retail sales rose 0.5 per cent in April.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday announced a series of measures to protect the Canadian steel and aluminum industries from the impacts of recently doubled U.S. tariffs, including steep anti-dumping quotas for foreign products that may be diverted to Canada.
Carney said the federal government will also introduce new rules on June 30 to ensure Canadian steel and aluminum and tariff-free products from “reliable trading partners” are prioritized for federal procurement.
As well, the government will ensure the auto industry and other supply chains are given the chance to prioritize domestic materials through remission processes that will be reviewed in the coming days.
“The steel and aluminum workers are on the front lines of this trade crisis,” Carney told reporters.
“In short, the government is responding to the impact of the unjust U.S. tariffs with multiple tools.”
Grocery retailer Empire Co. Ltd. EMP-A-T +7.76%increase beat analysts’ estimates for profit growth in the fourth quarter, reporting that its store chains such as FreshCo and Sobeys took market share from competitors.
The Stellarton, N.S.-based company reported on Thursday that sales grew in both the company’s FreshCo discount stores, as well as its full-service grocery stores such as Sobeys, Safeway and IGA. Same-store sales – an important industry metric that tracks sales growth not tied to new store openings – were up 3 per cent in the quarter ended May 3, compared to the same period last year.
Empire reported net earnings grew to $173-million or 74 cents per share in the fourth quarter, compared to $149-million or 61 cents per share the prior year. That exceeded analysts’ expectations of $164.5-million or 71 cents per share, according to the consensus estimate from S&P Capital IQ
The company also announced a 10-per-cent increase in its quarterly dividend paid to shareholders.
Fourth-quarter sales grew to $7.6-billion, up 3 per cent compared to the prior year, driven by strong performance at grocery stores, partly offset by lower sales at the company’s gas stations as fuel prices fell.
The expansion of the Farm Boy and FreshCo store chains contributed to profit growth, as did initiatives aimed at reducing “shrink,” an industry term for products that are lost before they can be sold – such as through theft or spoilage.
This time last year, Empire made the decision to pull back on the pace of expansion of its Voilà e-commerce service, saying the market for online groceries in Canada was smaller than expected. After ending its exclusive partnership with technology provider Ocado Group PLC earlier than planned, Empire launched partnerships with third-party delivery companies Instacart and Uber Eats, which have contributed to growth. Online sales rose by 80.2 per cent in the quarter.
The company continues to cut costs in its online service as it seeks to reach profitability. Construction of a fourth e-commerce distribution centre, underway in Vancouver, remains on hold, and will resume “once e-commerce penetration rates in Canada increase,” according to a press release issued on Thursday.
