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Economy in Brief
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Recover; Prices Surge
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rebounded to 25.7 during July...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Hit Lowest Since 1969
Initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to 207,000 during the week ended July 14...
Japan's Trade Deficit Swings Back to Surplus (Small Surplus)
Japan's early June trade results show a goods trade position having swung back to surplus in June from deficit in May...
U.S. Housing Starts Weaken Unexpectedly
Total housing starts declined 12.3% (-4.2% y/y) during June to 1.173 million (AR)...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Reverse Earlier Increase
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Index declined 2.5% last week (-12.8% y/y)...
by Robert Brusca February 28, 2008
Japan’s dip in IP in January is hard to evaluate right now. IP trends are moving lower but the Yr/Yr rate is still steady. The shorter term sequential growth rates, in the table below, show that the recent weakness is an artifact of the 3-month growth rates alone. Six-month growth rates are higher that 12-month rates for Total MFG and total industry. But textiles output, investment goods and minting show erosion between the 6 and 12-month horizons. All sectors and industries see declines in January and all are lower over three months except electricity and gas producers.
| Japan Industrial Production Trends | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m/m % | Saar % | Yr/Yr | |||||
| Jan-08 | Dec-07 | Nov-07 | 3-mo | 6-mo | 12-mo | Yr-Ago | |
| Mining & Mfg | -2.0% | 1.4% | -1.6% | -8.3% | 3.2% | 2.5% | 3.2% |
| Total Industry | -2.3% | 1.7% | -1.3% | -7.6% | 3.9% | 2.6% | 2.6% |
| Mfg | -1.9% | 1.4% | -1.6% | -8.3% | 3.4% | 2.5% | 3.2% |
| Textiles | -2.3% | 2.5% | -2.2% | -7.7% | -7.4% | -5.0% | -4.2% |
| Transport | -3.2% | 2.4% | -2.9% | -14.2% | 31.5% | 11.6% | 4.6% |
| Product Group | |||||||
| Consumer Goods | -1.5% | 2.1% | -2.1% | -6.1% | 13.2% | 4.2% | -0.8% |
| Intermediate Goods | -2.6% | 1.3% | -1.1% | -9.4% | 3.6% | 4.3% | 3.8% |
| Investment Goods | -0.4% | -0.6% | -1.9% | -11.1% | -7.6% | -3.4% | 5.8% |
| Mining | -2.9% | 1.1% | -5.9% | -27.2% | -15.9% | -5.1% | 3.5% |
| Electric & Gas | -1.4% | 0.2% | 2.0% | 3.2% | 15.2% | 5.9% | -2.8% |
