Economy in Brief: 2020

• Employment decline weakens wages. • Prices paid fall The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index increased 0.3% m/m in January after an upwardly revised 0.7% m/m gain in December (initially 0.6%). Prices rose 5.2% in [...]

The advance estimate of the U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed to $59.88 billion in February from $65.90 in January. A $63.8 billion deficit had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Exports of goods increased 0.6% [...]

Manufacturers' orders for durable goods strengthened 1.2% during February before business ground to a halt in March. Despite the m/m improvement, orders remained down 0.1% y/y. A 1.0% decline had been expected in the Action Economics [...]

Sales of new single-family homes declined 4.4% (+14.3% y/y) during February to 765,000 (AR) from 800,000 in January, revised from 764,000. The Action Economics survey expected sales of 754,000. The median price of a new home rose 6.3% [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its Nonmanufacturing Business Index of current general activity at the company level dropped to -12.8 during March after rising to 36.1 in February. The index of expected general [...]

We have known for some time that the impact of the coronavirus was coming and that it would hit data. Until now, few reports save last month's PMI for China gave any indication of the severity of the weakness that was encroaching. But [...]

The per barrel price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has weakened due to reduced demand from around the globe and increases in supply. It declined to $23.36 yesterday from an average $24.79 last week after averaging $32.34 in the [...]

The per barrel price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has weakened due to reduced demand from around the globe and increases in supply. It declined to $23.36 yesterday from an average $24.79 last week after averaging $32.34 in the [...]