Asset prices can play a useful role when assessing the economic outlook. The big drop in treasury yields during August has raised concern although a nowcast points to satisfactory third quarter growth in the US. This would mean that increased uncertainty about the trade dispute has caused a flight to safe havens and a decline in long term interest rates. Swings in the communication about the trade dispute cause swings in investor uncertainty and hence in risk premiums. This reduces the signal quality of asset prices, which may end up weighing on the real economy.
Our pulse indicators continue to send a positive signal: stability of the INSEE business and consumer confidence surveys in August, even a slight improvement in the composite PMI; a more important than expected fall in Q2 unemployment rate (-0.2 points, at 8.5%); a small but solid rebound in July consumer spending on goods (+0.4% m/m); a slight upward revision of the second estimate of Q2 GDP growth (+0.1 point, at 0.3% q/q), thus running at the same rate as in Q1.