Economy in Brief: 2014

The euro area PPI picked up in September, rising by 0.1% after a 0.2% August decline. While this may seem to suggest a turning point indicating that the downward pressure has abated, that conclusion is premature. One month does not [...]

The cost for a gallon of regular gasoline fell to $2.99 per gallon last week (-8.3% y/y) from $3.06 during the prior week. The latest was its least expensive price since December 2010. To account for seasonal patterns, Haver Analytics [...]

According to the Autodata Corporation, October sales of light vehicles held fairly steady at 16.46 million units (SAAR) versus 16.43 million in September. Sales were up 7.0% y/y. Auto sales in October improved 2.9% versus September [...]

The value of construction put-in-place edged 0.4% lower (+2.9% y/y) during September following a 0.5% August decline. The 0.3% July rise was revised sharply lower. Since May's peak, the value of construction spending has fallen 2.3%, [...]

The ISM Composite Index of Factory Sector Activity rebounded to 59.0 last month following an unrevised decline to 56.6 during September. The latest level matched its highest since March, 2011. Expectations in the Action Economic [...]

The overall European Monetary Union manufacturing index for October was revised lower from its preliminary reading, but it still shows a gain relative to September. The index stands at 50.6 in October, compared to 50.3 in September, a [...]

The employment cost index for private industry workers jumped 0.7% (2.3% y/y) in Q3'14, following an unrevised 0.8% Q2 rise. These increases were the largest since Q4'07 and surpassed expectations for a 0.5% rise in the Action [...]

Boo! October 31 has turned out to be a very bad data day for the European Union as well as for the euro area. It is not that one damaging report has been released, but that a series of reports shows deterioration across Europe. [...]