Economy in Brief

The U.S. foreign trade deficit deepened during April to $40.3B from $37.1B in March, revised from $38.8B. A $41.0B deficit had been expected. Data were revised back to January 1999. A 2.4% rebound (-1.4% y/y) in imports caused the m/m [...]

In May the manufacturing index for the European Monetary Union rose to 48.32 from 46.69. Month-to-month the manufacturing barometers improved for every country in the table. The greatest month-to-month gain was in Denmark which [...]

Unit sales of light motor vehicles recovered during May by 2.6% m/m (9.7% y/y) to 15.31M (SAAR), according to the Autodata Corporation. These sales compare to the recovery peak of 15.54M in November. Sales outperformed expectations [...]

Building activity improved marginally during April. The value of construction put-in-place gained 0.4% (4.3% y/y) after a revised 0.8% March decline and a 0.8% February increase, revised from -1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. A 0.9% gain [...]

Forward momentum in the factory sector has disappeared. The Composite Index of manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management fell to 49.0 during May from an unrevised 50.7 in April. Below the break-even point of 50, [...]

Unemployment rates in April in the European Monetary Union continue to rise, as the overall EMU rate is moving up to 12.2% in April from 12.1% in March. The March rate was steady at the same pace as in February. Over three months the [...]

Consumers are feeling better about today's economy and its prospects. The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for May improved to 84.5 (6.6% y/y), the highest level since July 2007. It compared to the consensus [...]

Personal income moved marginally lower during April (2.8% y/y) following a 0.3% March advance, initially reported as 0.2%. The income figure fell short of consensus expectations for a 0.2% increase. No change in wages and salaries [...]