Market Information Thursday 18 January 2024

The Chinese economy grew at a lower pace than expected in the fourth quarter of last year, according to official figures released on Wednesday. The Chinese gross domestic product grew 5.2 percent, lower than the anticipated 5.6 percent as per economists. Throughout 2023, the Chinese economy grew at the same rate, surpassing Beijing’s target of 5.0 percent. In comparison, the Chinese gross domestic product grew by 3.0 percent in 2022 when the country was still dealing with strict COVID-19 measures. Objectives for the current year are expected in March, with experts predicting growth between 4.0 and 4.9 percent.

In December, inflation in the eurozone rose, according to final figures from Eurostat, but core inflation actually decreased. Consumer prices increased by 2.9 percent on a yearly basis last month, in line with earlier estimates. This marked an increase from 2.4 percent in November and 2.9 percent in October, while inflation in December 2022 stood at 9.2 percent. Core inflation, a significant gauge for the European Central Bank (ECB), was 3.4 percent on a yearly basis in December, according to previous estimates, compared to 3.6 percent the previous month. This measurement does not include the volatile prices of energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco. On a monthly basis, consumer prices in the eurozone increased by 0.2 percent in December, while core prices increased by 0.5 percent.

In December, industrial production in the United States unexpectedly increased, according to an announcement from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. The production of the American industry rose by 0.1 percent, contrary to economists’ expectations of a 0.1 percent decrease in December. The figures for industrial production in November were revised down to an unchanged level, while initially, an increase of 0.2 percent had been reported. Capacity utilization remained unchanged at 78.6 percent. Previously, a capacity utilization of 78.8 percent had been reported for November, and economists had also expected a figure of 78.6 percent for December.

The 6M Euribor is unchanged at 3.87% compared to previous business day. The 10Y Swap increased with 4 basis points to 2.69% compared to previous business day.

In the attachment, today’s market data on money and capital market rates as well as other rates are presented.