Economy in Brief

The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) improved to 57.4 during June, and reversed virtually all of its May decline. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a [...]

The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services narrowed to $46.5 billion in May from April's $47.6 billion, which was only minimally revised, contrasting with $41.5 billion in May 2016. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

German factory orders gained 1% in May as foreign orders surged by 3.1% against a drop of 1.9% in domestic orders. Domestic orders are now lower for three consecutive months. Domestic orders are some 7.7% lower than their peak in this [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report for June indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 158,000 (2.0% y/y) following a 230,000 May gain, revised from 253,000. A 189,000 increase had been expected in the Action Economics [...]

Manufacturing sector orders fell 0.8% during May (+6.0% y/y) following a 0.3% April decline, revised from -0.2%. Durable goods orders were off 0.8% (+5.7% y/y), revised from -1.1% in the advance report. Transportation sector orders [...]

The PMI gauge for Europe has declined in June relative to May, but the final tabulation is a bit stronger than the flash estimate. China's private sector (composite or total PMI) expanded at the slowest pace in a year on a weakening [...]

Regular gasoline prices fell to $2.26 per gallon last week (-1.4% y/y) from $2.29 in the prior week. Prices were down from the high of $2.45 per gallon in late-April. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal [...]

Total sales of light vehicles during June eased 0.9% (-1.8% y/y) to 16.51 million units (SAAR) from 16.66 million in May, according to the Autodata Corporation. Sales have fallen 10.4% since the December 2016 peak. Light truck sales [...]