Economy in Brief: November 2020

• Exports up 2.6% m/m while imports edged up just 0.5%. • Exports led by jump in soybean shipments; slowdown in imports due mostly to softer imports of consumer goods and petroleum. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services [...]

• Sales slip from seven-month high in September. • Light truck sales ease as car sales improve. Vehicle buyers pared back spending last month. The Autodata Corporation reported that sales of light vehicles eased 0.6% during October [...]

• Factory orders rise for fifth straight month. • Shipments gain steadily. • Order backlogs slip while inventories hold steady, again. Activity in the factory sector continues to recover. Manufacturers' orders strengthened 1.1% during [...]

• Natural gas prices rose further as seasonal demand increased and supply tightened. • Energy product demand declined while inventories rose. Natural gas prices posted another marked weekly increase in the week ended October 30, [...]

The global news-flow on COVID-19 has darkened in recent weeks and that will surely sour the economic outlook. A second wave is well and truly underway in many major economies (see figure 1) and policymakers have responded in some [...]

• Construction spending increased just 0.3% in September, with August revised down and July revised somewhat higher. • Residential showing consistently sizable increases; nonresidential down three months in a row. • Both state & local [...]

The global manufacturing sector continues to recover or move toward recovery after the initial body slam from the coronavirus and the policies engaged to corral it. And while October data continue to paint a picture of ongoing [...]

• Factory sector activity strengthens to firmest level in two years. • Component performance is uniformly improved. • Price index continues to increase. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its Composite Index of [...]