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Economy in Brief
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Improve; Prices Jump
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rose to 23.2 during April...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Are Little Changed
Initial unemployment insurance claims slipped to 232,000 (-6.1% y/y) during the week ended April 14...
U.K. Retail Sales Fall
U.K. GDP is expected to cool its jets when the first quarter GDP number is released...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Rebound; Interest Rates Steady
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Volume Index increased 4.9% last week (1.0% y/y), ...
Japan’s Trade Surplus Returns Even As Trade Flows Slow
While the IMF has just lifted its outlook for growth in 2018, Japan is logging weaker and weaker export and import growth as the year progresses...
by Tom Moeller June 29, 2015
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that its June Composite index of factory sector activity improved to -7.0 during June, its least negative reading since January. The figure reflected modest improvement in production, employment, shipments, capacity utilization and wages & benefits. Raw materials pricing power jumped into positive territory, the firmest reading since November.
The business activity reading for six months ahead of 8.1 was its best number since December, but remained down from the April 2014 high of 25.3. Improvement in the future general business activity, employment and wages & benefits series led the way higher. There was slight deterioration in most of the other component series including shipments, production and the growth rate of new orders.
The diffusion indexes are calculated as the percentage of total respondents reporting increases minus the percentage reporting declines. Firms are asked whether output, employment, orders, prices and other indicators increased, decreased or remained unchanged over the previous month. The data can be found in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| Dallas Federal Reserve Manufacturing Survey (SA, Percent Balance) | Jun | May | Apr | Jun '14 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business Activity Versus One Month Ago | -7.0 | -20.8 | -16.0 | 11.9 | 8.3 | 2.2 | -0.6 |
| Production | -6.5 | -13.5 | -4.7 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 9.8 | 8.7 |
| Growth Rate of New Orders | -16.5 | -15.2 | -15.5 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 0.1 | -2.8 |
| Number of Employees | -1.2 | -8.2 | 1.8 | 13.7 | 11.5 | 5.6 | 11.8 |
| Prices Received for Finished Goods | -1.9 | -8.7 | -7.7 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 2.9 | 0.9 |
| Business Activity in Six Months | 8.1 | 4.9 | -5.9 | 19.3 | 17.4 | 11.0 | 7.6 |
| Production | 35.2 | 38.6 | 28.2 | 44.3 | 42.7 | 37.1 | 32.4 |
| Future New Orders Growth Rate | 21.1 | 27.3 | 19.6 | 31.3 | 31.5 | 25.0 | 19.5 |
| Number of Employees | 16.9 | 14.1 | 12.4 | 29.8 | 28.6 | 23.1 | 19.1 |
| Wages & Benefits | 31.0 | 30.6 | 34.2 | 45.3 | 43.0 | 38.2 | 34.2 |
