Economy in Brief

Auto dealer showrooms were bustling last month.Unit sales of light motor vehicles recovered 4.2% during June versus May to 15.96 million (SAAR), up 11.0% y/y, according to the Autodata Corporation. Setting a recovery high, sales were [...]

The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.5% (5.4% y/y) during May after a revised 0.1% April up tick. A 0.6% rise in activity had been expected. The value of public sector building gained 1.8% (-4.7% y/y) but activity was [...]

Orders to all manufacturers increased an expected 2.1% (3.6% y/y) during May, following a 1.3% April advance. The rise was led by a 3.7% jump (7.7% y/y) in durable goods bookings, little-revised from the advance report. It reflected a [...]

Consumer spending during June reached its nadir. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales improved 0.3% last week (1.9% y/y), the third consecutive weekly gain. The June average [...]

The price of regular gasoline fell last week to $3.50 per gallon. The decline was the third consecutive weekly drop and was to the lowest level since early January. Prices were well below the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in [...]

The Composite Index of manufacturing sector activity from the Institute for Supply Management improved to 50.9 during June versus an unrevised 49.0 in May. The figure roughly matched consensus expectations for 50.5. Any figure above [...]

The new overall EU sentiment index for June, at 92.6, is up from 90.8 in May. This is highest level since April 2012, a little more than a year ago. It's good mark but still it continues to be a very, very, low reading. Place this [...]

Real GDP growth for Q1'13 was revised lower to 1.8% (1.6% y/y) from last month's estimated 2.4% rise. Expectations were for a 2.4% gain. Growth in consumer spending and business investment were significantly reduced, but residential [...]