Denmark: Black Week underperforms somewhat but spending is holding up well despite rising infections

Danish card and MobilePay data is somewhat muddled this week by both the timing of Black Friday and of payday. Overall, spending continues to perform well, with no clear signs that higher infection rates are driving a shift in spending.
Black week underperformed recent years somewhat. Compared to 2020 spending was down 5% and only rose 1.7% compared to 2019. It is, however, worth noting that last year saw a boost from the payout of holiday allowances in October, an in 2019 Black Friday fell on a payday, which tends to lift spending.
Compared to 2019 spending online in retailing was up by 25%, while spending in physical stores fell 6.6% for the whole week. Overall, we are seeing a clear tendency for spending being spread out across the week leading up to Black Friday, rather than being concentrated on the Friday it self.
Note that spending in Electronic stores outperformed both 2019 and 2020. This indicates that spending continues to hold up well despite concerns of supply issues. However, this could be due to price effects, and people moving up their holiday shopping.
Restaurant spending has weakened slightly in the past two weeks, but we are far from a stark decline as a result of rising infections and new restrictions. Spending is still above 2019 level.
Travel spending took another tumble last week, as new restrictions and fears of the Omicron variant makes long term planning difficult.

Danske Research Team Danske Bank A/S

Download the full report

Author

Danske Research Team

Danske Bank A/S

Research is part of Danske Bank Markets and operate as Danske Bank's research department. The department monitors financial markets and economic trends of relevance to Danske Bank Markets and its clients.

EUR/USD keeps the rangebound trade near 1.1850

EUR/USD is still under pressure, drifting back towards the 1.1850 area as Monday’s session draws to a close. The modest decline in spot comes as the US Dollar picks up a bit of support, while thin liquidity and muted volatility, thanks to the US market holiday, are exaggerating price swings and keeping trading conditions choppy.

GBP/USD flirts with daily lows near 1.3630

GBP/USD has quickly given back Friday’s solid gains, turning lower at the start of the week and drifting back towards the 1.3630 area. The focus now shifts squarely to Tuesday’s UK labour market report, which is likely to keep the quid firmly in the spotlight and could set the tone for Cable’s next move.

Gold battle around $5,000 continues

Gold is giving back part of Friday’s sharp rebound, deflating below the key $5,000 mark per troy ounce as the new week gets underway. Modest gains in the US Dollar are keeping the metal in check, while thin trading conditions, due to the Presidents Day holiday in the US, are adding to the choppy and hesitant tone across markets.

AI Crypto Update: Bittensor eyes breakout as AI tokens falter

The artificial intelligence (AI) cryptocurrency segment is witnessing heightened volatility, with top tokens such as Near Protocol (NEAR) struggling to gain traction amid the persistent decline in January and February.

The week ahead: Key inflation readings and why the AI trade could be overdone

It is likely to be a quiet start to the week, with US markets closed on Monday for Presidents Day. European markets are higher across the board and gold is clinging to the $5,000 level after the tamer than expected CPI report in the US reduced haven flows to precious metals.

XRP steadies in narrow range as fund inflows, futures interest rise

Ripple is trading in a narrow range between $1.45 (immediate support) and $1.50 (resistance) at the time of writing on Monday. The remittance token extended its recovery last week, peaking at $1.67 on Sunday from the weekly open at $1.43.