Economy in Brief

Initial claims for unemployment insurance slipped to 326,000 during the week ended January 11 from 328,000 in the prior week, revised from 330,000. It was the lowest level since late-November. Expectations had been for 328,000 claims [...]

Consumer prices during all of 2013 increased 1.5%. The gain followed a 2.1% rise in 2012 and was half the 2011 increase. Price inflation ended 2013 on a firmer note, however, as December's 0.3% rise (1.5% y/y) was the strongest in six [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total mortgage market index rose 11.9% last week (-53.8% y/y) but remained near the lowest level since late-2000. Applications to purchase a home rose 11.5% (-8.5% y/y) while [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that its Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions for January rose sharply to 12.51 from a revised December reading of 2.22. The figure was at its highest level since May [...]

Price inflation recovered at the end of last year. The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased 0.4% (1.2% y/y) following unrevised declines of 0.1% and 0.2% during the prior two months. The latest gain matched expectations [...]

European Monetary Union inflation rose by 0.1% in December after rising at the same pace in November. In October inflation fell by 0.2%. Inflation in the euro zone is both subdued and decelerating. This early in the process we don't [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.4% in November (4.0% y/y), the slowest increase in three months. This inventory rise accompanied a 0.8% jump (4.0% y/y) in business sales after October's 0.5% increase. As a result, the [...]

Import prices were unchanged last month (-1.3% y/y) following sharp declines during the prior two months. A 0.3% increase had been expected in the Action Economics survey. For all of last year, import prices fell 1.1%, the first [...]