US retail sales rose in June for the second consecutive month, increasing 0.6%, the Commerce Department said. The increase followed May's 0.5% gain, and was better than analyst expectations of a 0.4% rise. The increase in retail sales was led by petrol, cars and auto parts. When these were excluded, sales dropped 0.2%, their fourth straight decline. Separate figures from the Labor Department showed that US wholesale prices increased in June. Its Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 1.8%. Excluding food and energy bills, core wholesale prices were 0.5% higher. Petrol sales rose 5% last month, while car and auto parts sales added 2.3%. 'Mixed picture' "Retail sales looked mixed, the auto sector had a huge month, but it is bouncing off the floor," said analyst Bret Barker of Metropolitan West Asset Management. Reports and surveys are continuing to paint a contrasting picture as to whether the US recession is easing. While a recent study said consumer confidence rose last month to a 16-month high, official figures also released this month showed that US unemployment increased more than analysts had expected in June. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that there were now growing signs that the US and global economies were starting to recover. |
SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy grew for the first time in a year, soaring 20 percent in the second quarter, the government said Tuesday, as the country emerges from its worst-ever recession.
Gross domestic product jumped an annualized, seasonally adjusted 20.4 percent in the three months through June, compared with the previous quarter, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement.
It said GDP fell 3.7 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.
The ministry said it now expects the economy to shrink between 4 percent and 6 percent this year, up from a previous forecast of a contraction between 6 percent and 9 percent.
"The revised 2009 forecast reflects the less severe contraction in the first half of the year, while the underlying economic conditions remain weak," the ministry said.
Singapore's economy, which relies on exports, finance and tourism, had contracted the previous four quarters, with an annualized, seasonally adjusted 16.4 percent drop in the October-December period marking its deepest recession since splitting from Malaysia in 1965.
The ministry said the economy fell an annualized, seasonally adjusted 12.7 percent in the first quarter, which is revised up from an initial estimate in April of a 19.7 percent contraction.
A surge in pharmaceutical production helped boost growth in the second quarter.
Manufacturing fell 1.5 percent from a year ago compared to a 24 percent contraction in the first quarter, the ministry said.
Construction rose 18 percent in the second quarter while services dropped 5.1 percent.
"A sizable part of Singapore's manufacturing uptick came from a spike in biomedical manufacturing output and electronics inventory restocking, both of which may not be sustained," the ministry said. - AP
Benchmark crude for July delivery was up 14 cents to $71.17 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, it rose 56 cents to settle at $71.03.
Earlier in the session, the Nymex contract peaked at $71.73, but fell back as the dollar strengthened and drew investors out of commodities, usually a safeguard against inflation and dollar weakness.
Prices dipped below $70 a barrel earlier this week from an eight-month high near $73 the previous week on investor concern that the economy may not recover as fast as some traders anticipate.
The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude inventories fell last week by 3.9 million barrels, or 1.1 percent, and have dropped 10.8 million barrels over the last four weeks.
While U.S. inventories are still bloated with the most oil in nearly 16 years, analysts see the recent drawdowns as a sign that gasoline demand is recovering.
"The tightening of the U.S. market is continuing," Barclays Capital said in a report. "U.S. gasoline demand continues its clear improving trend."
U.S. retail gasoline prices have risen 50 straight days as demand during the summer holiday season exceeded refiners' expectations.
"Four-week gasoline demand was up 1.14 percent, confirming last week's foray into positive territory and showing the first genuine sign that the economy is really improving," said U.S. energy consultancy Cameron Hanover. "Even with millions not going to work, Americans are using more gas again."
Oil has doubled since March on investor optimism that the global economy is on the road to recovery from its worst slowdown in decades. Indicators this week suggest growth remains sluggish, but some analysts are anticipating a better economic environment later this year.
"We continue to expect an improvement in fundamentals to begin to take hold in the next several months," Goldman Sachs said in a report. "Recent data points have already begun to suggest some stabilization."
Goldman said it expects the prices of oil to rise to $85 a barrel in six months and reach $95 by the end of 2010.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for July delivery was down 0.24 cent to $2.0302 a gallon and heating oil was unchanged at $1.8630. Natural gas for July delivery rose 3.8 cents to $4.291 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices rose 10 cents to $70.95 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Associated Press writer Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.
