Economy in Brief

Finished producer prices fell more than expected last month. A 0.2% decline was the consensus expectation. While energy prices fell more than expected, the 0.1% decline in core prices was unexpected. Core finished consumer goods [...]

Prices for imported commodities fell twice as much as expected last month, and by a record amount for all of last year. Petroleum import prices again collapsed, falling for the eighth month of the year. As of early January, crude oil [...]

Consumer borrowing surged unexpectedly by a record amount in November, spurred by 0% auto financing and a surge in revolving credit. The gain in nonrevolving credit (autos and other personal loans) fell slightly versus October, when [...]

Nonfarm payrolls fell last month by the least amount in four months and by slightly less than consensus estimates for a 170,000 worker decline. Prior months' figures were little revised. From the household survey, the unemployment [...]

The value of construction put-in-place rose slightly more than expected in November. The October figures were revised down due to a lowered estimate of nonresidential building. Residential building activity fell due to a sharp drop in [...]

Chain store sales were robust, rising 0.9% during the week of Christmas following a 2.9% surge the prior week. Sales for all of December were flat versus the prior month but the year-to-year monthly change improved to 2.7% versus [...]