Economy in Brief: 2020

Import prices declined during 0.5% (-1.2% y/y) during February after holding steady in January. A 1.0% decline had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These figures are not seasonally adjusted and do not include [...]

The German HICP pace rose to 1.8% year-over-year from a 1.6% pace last month. The acceleration happened because one year ago in February the HICP was flat compared to rising by 0.2% this month. The core pace is lower at 1.5% year over [...]

The National Association of Realtors reported that its Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index improved 4.1% m/m (9.2% y/y) to 168.4 in January following a 1.2% decline during December. It was the highest level of [...]

Total borrowing in U.S. financial markets decreased to $2,244 billion in Q4 2019 from $4,256 billion in Q3, according to the Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts data, published today, March 12. The Q4 amount was 10.3% of GDP, much [...]

• Initial jobless claims decreased to 211,000 in the week ending March 7th. • Four-week moving average edged up to 214,000. Initial jobless claims for unemployment insurance declined 4,000 to 211,000 (-5.8% year-on-year) during the [...]

The EMU IP index rose by a sharp 2.3% in January; its first increase since September. Output gains registered across all major sectors… And they are not apropos of a trend. This is yet another report that has showed a pick-up in [...]

The Producer Price Index for final demand declined 0.6% (+1.3% y/y) during February following a 0.5% January rise. It was the largest m/m weakening since January 2015. A 0.1% decline had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government ran a $235.34 billion budget deficit during February compared to a $233.98 billion deficit twelve months earlier. A $239.3 billion deficit had been expected in the [...]