Economy in Brief: 2019

The Autodata Corporation reported that sales of light vehicles during November rose 3.7% (-1.3% y/y) to 17.20 million units (SAAR) and reversed most of the prior month's decline to 16.58 million. During the first eleven months of [...]

Retail gasoline prices held steady last week at $2.58 per gallon (+5.1% y/y). Typically, gasoline prices weaken this time of year. After applying the seasonal factor constructed by Haver Analytics, gasoline prices increased to $2.69 [...]

The value of construction put-in-place fell 0.8% (+1.1% y/y) during October following a 0.3% September decline, revised from +0.5%. August's 1.1% increase was revised from -0.3%. A 0.4% October rise had been expected in the Action [...]

The ISM Manufacturing Diffusion Index eased to 48.1 during November after rising slightly to 48.3 in October. A reading of 49.1 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Since 2009, there has been a 71% correlation [...]

Manufacturers' orders for durable goods declined 1.1% (-5.4% y/y) during September...... The durable goods figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The Action Economics consensus forecast figure is in the AS1REPNA database. [...]

The Chicago Business Barometer fell sharply to 43.2 during October........ The MNI Chicago Report is produced by MNI in partnership with ISM-Chicago. The survey covers a sample of over 200 purchasing professionals in the Chicago area [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined 15,000 to 213,000 (-9.0% year-on-year) during the week ending November 23. The previous week was revised slightly higher to 228,000 (was 227,000). The late Thanksgiving holiday may [...]

Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.3% (3.7% y/y) during October after an unrevised 0.2% September rise. The increase matched expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. In constant dollars, spending edged 0.1% higher [...]