Saudi Arabian airports welcomed 128 million passengers in 2024

Saudi Arabia has released its Vision 2030 annual report for 2024, assessing the progress of key economic diversification objectives against targets. Notably, over the course of 2024, Saudi Arabia’s airports welcomed 128 million passengers, an almost 46% increase since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, and well above the target of 100 million passengers. Preliminary data shows a third consecutive year of falling FDI inflows, declining 19% y/y in 2024. FDI inflows reached USD 20.7bn, short of the USD 29bn annual target.

Indian industrial production rose 3% y/y in March, higher than the downwardly revised 2.7% growth recorded in February. The March print was lower than consensus expectations for growth of 3.3% y/y. Manufacturing, which accounts for the largest share of industrial production, rose 3% y/y, while electricity generation grew 6.3% y/y.

The Dallas Fed’s manufacturing index saw a sharp decline in the April print, with the general business conditions index falling 20 points to -35.8, its lowest level since May 2020. There was a marked slow down in the new orders component, while price pressures rose across both raw materials and final goods.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation this morning projected a win for Mark Carney, the leader of the Liberal party, in the Canadian election. This victory will mark the fourth consecutive term for the Liberal party. Although at the time of writing it remains unclear whether they will manage to win a majority of seats in parliament.

Today’s Economic Data and Events

• 18:00 US JOLTS job openings (Mar): forecast 7500k
• 18:00 US Conference Board leading index (Apr): forecast 87.6

Fixed Income

• US Treasury yields fell again on Monday. The US 2yr yield declined almost 6bps to reach 3.6928%, while the 10yr yield fell 3bps to 4.2082%.
• Yields on major European bonds rose on the day, with the largest gains in Greece, Portugal and Spain. The 10yr UK Gilt yield rose 3bps to 4.508%, while the 10yr Bund yield gained 5bps to 2.519%.
• The Central Bank of the UAE sold AED 33bn in its mbill auction at the start of the week with a bid cover ratio of 1.2x in aggregate. At the short-end, AED 6bn of 28-day bills were sold with a yield of 4.55% and AED 4.5bn in 84-day bills were sold at a yield of 4.55%. The central bank sold AED 6bn of 112-day bills at a yield of 4.55% and AED 16.5bn in 280-day bills with a yield of 4.45%.
• Adnoc Murban priced a USD 1.5bn 10yr sukuk at T+60 with order books close to USD 4bn. It is the first public issuance from Adnoc Murban.
• Omniyat priced a USD400m 3yr green sukuk at 8.375%.

FX

• The dollar weakened on Monday, with a disappointing Dallas Fed manufacturing survey spurring concerns about US growth. The spot index fell 0.46%. EURUSD gained 0.46% to 1.142, while GBPUSD rose 0.94% to 1.3441, its highest level in more than three years. USDJPY fell 1.15% to 142.01.
• Commodity currencies also gained against the dollar on the day. USDCAD fell 0.23% to close at 1.383, while AUDUSD rose by 0.56% to 0.6431 and NZDUSD gained 0.26% to 0.5979.

Equities

• Moves in US equity markets were mixed on Monday. The Dow Jones rose 0.28%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.06%. The NASDAQ fell 0.1%.
• European equity markets saw broad-based gains, supported by M&A activity news. The Eurostoxx 50 rose 0.32%, the CAC 40 gained 0.5%, the DAX increased by 0.13%. The FTSE 100 rose by 0.02%.
• Local markets also saw gains on Monday. The DFM rose 1.04%, the ADX gained 1.14% and in Saudi Arabia the Tadawul increased by 0.24%.

Commodities

• Oil futures fell on Monday. Both Brent and WTI declined 1.5% to reach USD 65.86/b and USD 62.05/b, respectively.