Please see below the latest Blackfinch Group – Market Update, which was received this morning (04/01/2023):
UK COMMENTARY
- Property prices fell for the fourth consecutive month in December, the longest run of price declines since 2008, according to Nationwide. The average property price dropped 0.1% month-on-month to £262,068 – a much smaller fall than the previous two months. This left house prices 2.5% lower than their August peak after taking seasonal effects into account
NORTH AMERICA COMMENTARY
- The US Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new unemployment benefit claims had risen. There were 225,000 ‘initial claims’ last week, an increase of 9,000. This was still at low levels in relative terms, suggesting the jobs market remains healthy.
- US consumer sentiment bounced back in December amid falling energy prices, stock market gains and moderating inflation. December’s final reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index rose 2.9 points to 59.7.
- The University of Michigan also reported that one-year inflation expectations for households dipped to 4.4% in December the lowest in 18 months. Inflation expectations over the next five to ten years declined 0.1 points to 2.9%.
- New home sales rose 5.8% in November to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 640k. This was the strongest pace of sales since August, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and US Census Bureau.
- Sales were mixed at the regional level, with the overall increase driven by gains in the West and Midwest. Median home prices fell 2.8% month-on-month and the annual rate of home price inflation slowed from 13.4% in October to 9.5% in November.
EUROPE COMMENTARY
- S&P Global reported December’s final Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) were in line with the mid-month release at 47.8, a three-month high and up 0.6 points from November. Across all four of the ‘big economies’, manufacturing PMI rose in December but remained below the neutral 50 mark, suggesting they are still in contraction territory.
Please continue to check our Blog content for advice and planning issues and the latest investment, markets and economic updates from leading investment houses.
Carl Mitchell – Dip PFS
Independent Financial Adviser
04/01/2023