Recent Updates
- US: Mfg & Trade Inventories & Sales (Apr), IP & Capacity Utilization Advance Retail Sales (May)
- US: Industrial Production Detail (May)
- Iceland: Unemployment Rate (May)
- Thailand: Check Clearing System (May)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Industrial Production Rebounds
Industrial
production increased 0.4% (2.0% y/y) during May and recouped a 0.4% April
decline...
U.S. Business Inventories Rise in April as Sales Decline
Total business inventories increased 0.5% (5.3% year-on-year) during April...
Italian Inflation Stays Under Wraps...but Other Pressures Don't
Italy had a long legacy as a high-inflation weak-currency country when EMU was formed...
U.S. Import and Export Prices Decline
Import prices fell 0.3% (-1.5% y/y) during May following a
0.1% April improvement...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Rise
Initial unemployment insurance claims rose to 222,000 in the
week ending June 8 from 219,000 during the prior week...
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% |
