Economy in Brief: 2018

The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index using new methodology increased 0.4% in January following an unchanged reading in December. The year-on-year (y/y) gain edged up to 2.7%. A 0.3% January rise had been expected in the [...]

Initial claims foe jobless insurance fell to 221,000 (-6.8% y/y) during the week ended February 3 from an unrevised 230,000 claims in the prior week. Expectations had been for 234,000 claims in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index increased to 25.8 during February and made up most of January's decline to 22.2. Expectations had been for a reading of 21.6 in the [...]

The Federal Reserve indicated that industrial production slipped 0.1% (+3.7 y/y) during January, following a 0.4% December gain, revised from 0.9%. A 0.2% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Factory sector [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 230,000 (-5.2% y/y) during the week ended February 10 from 223,000 claims in the prior week, which was slightly revised from 221,000. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

EMU GDP decelerated in Q4 2017 with growth tailing to a 2.4% compounded annual rate, compared to 2.9% in Q3 2017. The year-on-year pace of GDP growth is still quite solid as it decelerated by only a tick to 2.7% in Q4 from 2.8% in Q3 [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.4% in December (3.2% y/y), the same as during their unrevised November reading. Total business sales gained 0.6% (6.7% y/y) after a 1.4% rise, revised from 1.2%. The changes in inventories and [...]

The Consumer Price Index jumped up 0.5% m/m (2.1% y/y) in January following a 0.2% m/m rise in December. The core index (that is, excluding food and energy prices) increased a more modest 0.3% m/m (1.8% y/y) after a 0.2% m/m gain in [...]