The auto sector boosted industrial production in the US, which rebounded for July

Industrial production rebounded more than expected in July in the United States, thanks to strong support from auto manufacturing, according to data published by the Federal Reserve (Federal Reserve, central bank) on Tuesday.

The production of the industrial branch grew by 0.6% compared to June, above 0.3% that analysts had expected. During July 2021, the increase was 3.9%. This progress is mainly due to the increase in the manufacture of cars and auto parts, which grew by 6.6% after six months of continuous decline.

This sector, which is essential in generating employment, has been very turbulent for a year and a half due to the shortage of semiconductors, which has been weighing down the production of vehicles. Meanwhile, consumer demand is being eroded by inflation and credit prices are eroded by higher federal interest rates.

High profit expectations in large companies

US supermarket giant Walmart reassured Wall Street on Tuesday by re-adjusting its annual earnings forecast upwards, Three weeks after an earnings warning was issued, stock markets crashed.

On Tuesday, the group said in its quarterly results statement that it expects its earnings to fall between 9-11%, below the range’s forecast of 11-13% so far. Walmart stock is up 5.64% on Wall Street in the latter part of the day.

The group had announced in late July that its profits would be affected because its customers are spending more on food and gasoline, due to inflation, and less on other goods it sells. This situation led the company to offer discounts on other products with higher margins in order to reduce inventory.

In the second quarter of 2022, the Arkansas-based company had sales of $152.9 billion.An increase of 8.4% from the same quarter last year and above what analysts had expected.

Meanwhile, it increased its sales by 6.5% and expects to grow by 3% in the second half. Net income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, a growth of 20.4% over the same period in 2021.

Slowing economic growth in Colombia

This Tuesday, the National Administrative Statistics Service (Dane) released the results of the Colombian Economy Watch Index (ISE), which He revealed a slowdown in the economy during the month of June 2022.

According to the Deputy General Manager in charge of Dane, Julith SolanoThe ISE index for June was 8.5%, while recording a growth of 14.47% in the same month last year.

There were three sectors that contributed the most to the increase of the Istanbul Stock Exchange in JuneWith a total contribution of 5.1 percentage points. These are trade, maintenance, transportation, accommodation and food service activities (2.6 percentage points); Public administration, defense, education, human health (1.3 percentage points), and manufacturing (1.2 percentage points).

Julith Solano also highlighted Good performance in retail and wholesale businessEspecially because of the VAT-free day that took place during June, mid-year premium payment and Father’s Day celebration, resulting in a contribution of 10.3 percentage points.

In addition, the deputy general manager in charge of Dane revealed that ISE stock exchange for May revised upward It decreased from 16.5% (data reported in July) to 17.2%. The indicators for January (from 8.2% to 8.4%) and April (from 11.9% to 12.2%) were also revised upwards.

*With information from AFP.