Economy in Brief: June 2020

• Service sector business improves moderately. • Business activity recovery is notable. • Prices index steadies. As states reopen, nonmanufacturing business activity is picking up. The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector [...]

Unemployment rates in the U.S. economy have been a matter of controversy for some time. This month the data from Europe are eye opening and it reminds us why we need to think about what economic data mean as well as to report them and [...]

• A second large factory orders decline led by durable goods. • Shipments fall even more in April than in March. • Inventory liquidation continues--in nondurable goods. U.S. factory orders and shipments posted even larger declines in [...]

• Monthly decline follows record drop in April. • Employment drops in all sectors. • Factory payrolls remain notably hard hit. Job market weakness continued last month, although the rate of decline moderated versus April. The ADP [...]

• Mortgage applications decreased 3.9% in week ending May 29. • Refinancing applications dropped 8.6%, the seventh consecutive weekly decline. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index [...]

• Car & light truck sales both rise. • Sales remain 28.6% below the February level. • Fewer vehicle sales have been meaningful drag on economic growth. The Autodata Corporation reported that sales of light vehicles strengthened 41.5% [...]

The closely watched Nationwide Survey of U.K. home prices produced a 1.7% m/m drop in May. This was the first monthly price drop in the Nationwide series since September of last year when prices ticked lower by 0.1% m/m. The May 1.7% [...]

• Gasoline prices edge higher to eight-week high. • Crude oil prices continue to increase. • Natural gas prices ease. As parts of the economy slowly reopened, the pump price for a gallon of gasoline edged up to $1.97 (-29.7% y/y) in [...]