Economy in Brief

Industrial production rose a moderate 0.3% (2.3% y/y) last month following a revised 1.0% November jump, initially reported as 1.1%. A 0.2% gain had been expected in the Action Economics survey. For the year, output rose 3.7% after a [...]

The December consumer price index matched expectations and was roughly unchanged following a 0.3% November decline. During the last twelve months prices rose 1.7%, roughly half the 2011 twelve month increase. Prices in December [...]

Business inventories rose 0.3% (5.5% y/y) during November, the same as a month earlier. The increase left the y/y rise at a steady 5.5%. The 0.6% gain (7.0% y/y) in merchant wholesalers inventories led the increase, supported by a [...]

The Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions was negative in January for the sixth consecutive month. Moreover, except for one month in 2010, the latest reading of -7.78 was nearly the lowest level of the economic [...]

The producer price index for finished goods declined 0.2% last month (+1.3% y/y) after an unrevised 0.8% November drop. Expectations had been for a 0.1% slip. For the full year price rose 1.9%. Prices excluding food & energy ticked up [...]

Consumers were in a spending mood at the end of last year. Total retail sales rose 0.5% following a 0.4% November increase which was revised up from 0.3%. A 0.2% rise in December sales had been expected, according to Action Economics. [...]

Except for "tail risks", those with a low probability, like failure to raise the debt ceiling, the economic fundamentals appear to be on the mend. The OECD calculates composite leading indicators (CLIs) for 39 countries*. Its CLIs [...]

There's been nothing stealth about recent movements in commodity prices. Many have jumped while others have held firm. That combination has raised the latest commodity price index from the International Business and Economic Research [...]