In July, the cooling of core inflation in the United States and strong consumer demand drove overall retail and clothing consumption in the United States to continue to rise. The increase in worker income levels and a labor market in short supply are the main support for the US economy to avoid the predicted recession caused by sustained interest rate hikes.
01
In July 2023, the year-on-year increase in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated from 3% in June to 3.2%, marking the first month on month increase since June 2022; Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI in July increased by 4.7% year-on-year, the lowest level since October 2021, and inflation is gradually cooling down. In that month, the total retail sales in the United States reached 696.35 billion US dollars, a slight increase of 0.7% month on month and a year-on-year increase of 3.2%; In the same month, the retail sales of clothing (including footwear) in the United States reached $25.96 billion, an increase of 1% month on month and 2.2% year-on-year. The stable labor market and rising wages continue to make American consumption resilient, providing important support for the US economy.
In June, the decline in energy prices pushed Canadian inflation down to 2.8%, reaching its lowest level since March 2021. In that month, the total retail sales in Canada decreased by 0.6% year-on-year and slightly increased by 0.1% month on month; The retail sales of clothing products amounted to CAD 2.77 billion (approximately USD 2.04 billion), a decrease of 1.2% month on month and a year-on-year increase of 4.1%.
02
According to data released by the European Bureau of Statistics, the euro zone’s reconciled CPI increased by 5.3% year-on-year in July, lower than the 5.5% increase in the previous month; Core inflation remained stubbornly high that month, at a level of 5.5% in June. In June of this year, the retail sales of 19 countries in the eurozone decreased by 1.4% year-on-year and 0.3% month on month; The overall retail sales of the 27 EU countries decreased by 1.6% year-on-year, and consumer demand continued to be dragged down by high inflation levels.
In June, the retail sales of clothing in the Netherlands increased by 13.1% year-on-year; Household consumption of textile, clothing, and leather products in France reached 4.1 billion euros (approximately 4.44 billion US dollars), a year-on-year decrease of 3.8%.
Affected by the decline in natural gas and electricity prices, the UK inflation rate fell to 6.8% for the second consecutive month in July. The overall retail sales growth in the UK in July fell to its lowest point in 11 months due to frequent rainfall weather; The sales of textiles, clothing, and footwear products in the UK reached 4.33 billion pounds (approximately 5.46 billion US dollars) in the same month, an increase of 4.3% year-on-year and a decrease of 21% month on month.
03
Japan’s inflation continued to rise in June this year, with the core CPI excluding fresh food rising by 3.3% year-on-year, marking the 22nd consecutive month of year-on-year increase; Excluding energy and fresh food, the CPI increased by 4.2% year-on-year, reaching the highest level in over 40 years. In that month, Japan’s overall retail sales increased by 5.6% year-on-year; The sales of textiles, clothing, and accessories reached 694 billion yen (approximately 4.74 billion US dollars), a decrease of 6.3% month on month and 2% year-on-year.
Türkiye’s inflation rate fell to 38.21% in June, the lowest level in the past 18 months. The central bank of Türkiye announced in June that it would raise the benchmark interest rate from 8.5% by 650 basis points to 15%, which may further curb inflation. In Türkiye, the retail sales of textiles, clothing and shoes increased by 19.9% year on year and 1.3% month on month.
In June, Singapore’s overall inflation rate reached 4.5%, significantly slowing from 5.1% last month, while the core inflation rate fell to 4.2% for the second consecutive month. In the same month, Singapore’s clothing and footwear retail sales increased by 4.7% year-on-year and decreased by 0.3% month on month.
In July of this year, China’s CPI increased by 0.2% month on month from a decrease of 0.2% in the previous month. However, due to the high base in the same period last year, it decreased by 0.3% from the same period last month. With the subsequent rebound in energy prices and the stabilization of food prices, CPI is expected to return to positive growth. In that month, the sales of clothing, shoes, hats, needles, and textiles above the designated size in China reached 96.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.3% and a month on month decrease of 22.38%. The growth rate of textile and clothing retail in China slowed down in July, but the recovery trend is still expected to continue.
04
In the second quarter of 2023, Australia’s CPI increased by 6% year-on-year, marking the lowest quarterly increase since September 2021. In June, the retail sales of clothing, footwear, and personal goods in Australia reached AUD 2.9 billion (approximately USD 1.87 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 1.6% and a month on month decrease of 2.2%.
The inflation rate in New Zealand slowed to 6% in the second quarter of this year from 6.7% in the previous quarter. From April to June, the retail sales of clothing, footwear, and accessories in New Zealand reached 1.24 billion New Zealand dollars (approximately 730 million US dollars), an increase of 2.9% year-on-year and 2.3% month on month.
05
South America – Brazil
In June, Brazil’s inflation rate continued to slow to 3.16%. In that month, the retail sales of fabrics, clothing, and footwear in Brazil increased by 1.4% month on month and decreased by 6.3% year-on-year.
Africa – South Africa
In June of this year, South Africa’s inflation rate fell to 5.4%, the lowest level in more than two years, due to a further slowdown in food prices and a significant decline in gasoline and diesel prices. In that month, the retail sales of textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods in South Africa reached 15.48 billion rand (approximately 830 million US dollars), an increase of 5.8% year-on-year.
Post time: Sep-05-2023