Economy - Friday

Investor's Business Daily Fri May 9, 6:45 PM ET

U.S.'08 growth seen below 1%

The world's largest economy will grow by less than a percent this year due to falling consumer sentiment, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The U. Mich. confidence gauge hit a 26-year low in April. Consumers tend to believe the economy is in a recession when growth is near zero, said Richard Curtin, director of the survey. But economists are rethinking their recession forecasts in the face of resilient U.S. data.

The Canadian trade surplus rose to $5.48 bil in March, above expectations and the highest since May '07, due to rising prices for oil and nat'l gas exports. The country added 19,200 jobs in April, but its jobless rate rose to 6.1% in March, the highest in a year. French industrial output fell by 0.8% in March, much worse than expected, after Feb.'s revised 0.5% gain. It's the latest sign of slowing in the euro zone's No. 2 economy. China factories face higher prices

China's producer inflation hit a 3-year peak, edging up to 8.1% in April vs. 8% the month before as food, energy and raw material costs rose at a double-digit pace. The reading actually was slightly below views, but shows a sustained build-up in price pressures that could keep consumer inflation high. Vice Premier Wang Qishan said inflation remained China's biggest economic problem and reaffirmed that the gov't would adhere to a tight monetary policy.

COMING UP TUESDAY

Import and export prices for April, 8:30 a.m. EDT. Retail sales for April, 8:30 a.m. EDT (forecast: 0%, ex auto 0.2%).