19 February 2024
The week ahead
- On Tuesday, the Housing and Construction Authority (HMS) releases the housing price index for January. Síminn publishes results.
- On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) releases the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s last meeting. Iceland Seafood publishes results.
- On Thursday, Brim publishes results
- On Friday, Statistics Iceland releases trade in goods and services figures for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Image of the week
Alongside rising education levels in Iceland and increased labour force participation by women, the composition of the labour market has changed. In the period 1991 to date, managers, specialists, professionally qualified staff and service and retail sector employees have grown in number while office workers, farmers and fishermen have grown fewer. Tradespeople have also grown slightly fewer.
Highlights of the previous week
- February price measurements for the Consumer Price Index were carried out last week. We expect the Index to rise by 0.89% between months and inflation to decrease from 6.7% to 6.1%. Inflation will continue to recede in coming months, down to around 5% in May, in our opinion.
- Eik, Eimskip, Kvika Bank, Reginn and Reitir published results, Sýn published an earnings warning and Amaroq Minerals completed a stock offering.
- Arion Bank, Íslandsbanki and Landsbankinn published annual and sustainability reports.
- Municipality Credit Iceland auctioned bonds, Landsbankinn auctioned covered bonds and the City of Reykjavík auctioned bonds.
- Economic Research published a new podcast to the Forum in which James Ashley, Head of International Market Strategy & Head of Strategic Advisory Solutions EMEA + Asia with Goldman Sachs, discusses the economic outlook (in English).
Statistics and market data
Disclaimer
This review and/or summary is marketing material intended for information purposes and does not constitute financial advice or an independent financial analysis. The legal provisions that apply to financial advice and financial analysis do not apply to this content, including the ban on transactions prior to publication. The review is based on publicly available information from parties that Landsbankinn deems reliable yet the Bank cannot independently guarantee the accuracy of the information. Landsbankinn is not liable for any loss that may result from use of the information contained herein.Information about the past performance of financial instruments or indices show nominal returns, unless otherwise mentioned. If results are based on foreign currencies, returns may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations. Past returns are not necessarily an indication of future returns. Detailed information about the historic performance of financial instruments and indices is available on Landsbankinn’s website, including on returns for the past 5 years.Securities transactions involve risk and readers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Risk Description for Trading in Financial Instruments and Landsbankinn’s Conflict of Interest Policy on Landsbankinn’s website.Landsbankinn is licensed to operate as a commercial bank in accordance with Act No. 161/2002, on Financial Undertakings, and is subject to supervision by the Financial Supervisory Authority of the Central Bank of Iceland (www.fme.is).You may also be interested in
22 April 2024
Nominal housing prices have risen by 5.2% in the past 12 months, according to a new housing price index, and the real price of residential housing is slightly higher than the same time last year.
15 April 2024
Inflation will recede somewhat in April, from 6.8% to 6.1%, only to remain fairly stable in the coming months and stand at 5.9% in July, according to our newest inflation forecast. Despite the dent interest rate increases have made in demand, the economy is still going fairly strong and there is tension in the labour market. Inflation expectations remain well above target.
8 April 2024
Around 14% more tourists travelled through Keflavík International Airport in February of this year than the same month of 2023. The duration of stays is shorter than before, with registered overnight stays declining by 2.7% between years in February.
18 March 2024
Figures for 2023 indicate that international tourists had fewer overnight stays in Iceland on average as compared to 2022 yet spent more per day than previously.
11 March 2024
The three large export sectors, tourism (ISK 600 bn), aluminium and aluminium products (ISK 320 bn) and seafood products (ISK 350 bn), were behind 70% of total export value in 2023. Other export created value in the amount of ISK 580 bn, more than either seafood products or aluminium and aluminium products.
4 March 2024
After almost two years of very robust economic growth in the post-pandemic era, the economy slowed down considerably as 2023 progressed.
26 Feb. 2024
There was a continuous surplus on foreign trade in the years 2010 to 2019. This turned to a deficit in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. Foreign trade has been more or less balanced since.
5 Feb. 2024
Inflation has decreased in recent months and, in addition, fewer components have increased by over 10% in the past 12 months.
29 Jan. 2024
Last year, wages increased by 10% on average between years. Despite much higher wages, their purchasing power, i.e. the goods and services that can be purchased for wages, only grew by 1%.
22 Jan. 2024
Total government expenditure on domestic research and development (R&D) was 2.7% of GDP in 2022. This is slightly higher than the EU average yet lower than in countries like Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Germany.