Economy in Brief

The market diffusion indicators for the euro area show backing off of the composite index in June. The composite index fell to 52.8 in June from 53.5 in May while May itself reflected a deterioration from April's level of 54.0. It's [...]

Initial unemployment insurance claims rose to 315,000 during the week ended June 28 from 313,000 in the prior week, revised from 312,000. The latest claims level matched expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey and [...]

The Composite Index for the service and construction sectors from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) edged lower to 56.0 in June but remained near its highest level in ten months. The latest figure matched expectations in the [...]

The labor market is on a firmer footing. Nonfarm payrolls increased 288,000 during June following upwardly-revised gains of 224,000 and 304,000 during the prior two months. The increase easily outpaced expectations for a 215,000 rise [...]

The labor market is on a firmer footing. Nonfarm payrolls increased 288,000 during June following upwardly-revised gains of 224,000 and 304,000 during the prior two months. The increase easily outpaced expectations for a 215,000 rise [...]

New orders to all manufacturers declined 0.5% (+2.4% y/y) in May following a 0.8% increase during April, revised from 0.7%. A 0.3% decline was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. A 0.9% decline (+2.9% y/y) in durable [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index edged 0.2% lower last week (-37.5% y/y) and added to declines during the prior two weeks. Applications remained two-thirds below the peak in [...]

PPI trends in the EMU continue to push lower. The chart shows that only intermediate goods inflation trend has a small upturn in recent months. In May the PPI (excluding construction) rose by 0.1% after a 0.2% April increase. Still, [...]