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- Korea: Foreign Investment in Capital Market (Nov)
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Economy in Brief
Wholesale Inventories Grow While Sales Decline
Wholesale inventories increased 0.8% month-on-month (6.9% year-over-year) during October...
U.S. Consumer Credit Usage Expands
Consumer credit outstanding increased $25.38 billion during October...
German IP Takes Surprising October Slip
Germany's industrial production slowed to a gain of only 0.1% in September then dropped by 0.5% in October...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to 10-Year High; Record Goods Shortfall
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened for the fifth consecutive month to $55.49 billion in October...
U.S. ADP Private Sector Payroll Growth Eases
The ADP National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 179,000 during November...
by Tom Moeller October 14, 2005
Industrial output last month fell 1.3% reflecting the effects of Hurricane's Katrina & Rita and the decline by far outpaced Consensus expectations for a 0.4% drop. Utility output (-0.9%) and mining output (-9.1%) again reflected the worst damage. Factory sector production fell a lesser 0.6% (+2.9% y/y).
The Federal Reserve indicated that storm-related production declines may have reduced the change in total industrial production about 1.7 percentage points and by nearly 0.4 percentage points in August. Additionally, the strike in the aircraft industry reduced the change in total industrial output by almost 0.5 percentage points.
Output of computers, peripheral equipment & semiconductors jumped 3.7% (24.6% y/y). Excluding the high tech sector factory output fell 0.9% (+1.6% y/y).
Output of appliances, furniture & carpeting rose 0.3% (4.1% y/y) but business equipment output dropped a sharp 3.7% reflecting a 24.3% drop in transit equipment and a 3.4% decline in defense & space.
Total capacity utilization fell sharply to 78.6% and capacity grew 1.1% y/y. Factory sector utilization fell to 77.9% while capacity rose 1.4% y/y.
| Production & Capacity | Sept | Aug | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Production | -1.3% | 0.2% | 2.0% | 4.1% | -0.0% | -0.3% |
| Consumer Goods | 0.3% | 0.5% | 3.6% | 2.7% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Business Equipment | -3.7% | -0.4% | 4.0% | 9.5% | 1.2% | -7.9% |
| Capacity Utilization | 78.6% | 79.8% | 78.0% (9/04) | 78.1% | 75.5% | 75.3% |
