Chart of the week

Durable-goods orders in March revealed a 1.3% upturn in non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft. February’s number was also revised up from -0.1% to +0.1%. Durable-goods orders have now hit new highs following declines from August to December.

OUR ANALYSIS

This positive news underscores the recent upturn in business investment intentions.

It comes on the back of March’s robust retail-sales numbers. It also confirmed that the American economy seems to be emerging from its slump at the turn of the year and that this rebound is more a normalization, after the excesses of pessimism at the end of last year, than an excess of euphoria.

The opinion expressed above is dated April 26, 2019, and liable to change.

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