Economy in Brief: December 2020

• • • These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional [...]

• Gasoline prices edged up two cents. • Crude oil prices fell 17 cents. • Natural gas prices slipped three cents. The price of regular gasoline edged up to $2.24 per gallon (-12.8% y/y) in the week ended December 28 from $2.22 per [...]

• Headline index of general business conditions slipped for second month. • However, subindexes pointed to a meaningful pickup in activity. • Expectations index also eased. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that its Texas [...]

Japan's industrial production index gained 0.2% in November as the manufacturing gauge of IP was flat. Still, these results follow five strong months of output gains in mining and manufacturing. The graph shows that year-on-year [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's state coincident indexes in November show increasing divergence in performance. While 5 states saw increases of 10 percent or more in the three months since August (Massachusetts remained in [...]

• Home price gain sets record for third straight month. • Prices continue to strengthen regionally. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index increased 1.5% during October following an unrevised record 1.7% September [...]

• Fall in new home sales is regionally broad-based. • Prices fall modestly. New single-family home sales declined 11.0% during November (+20.8% y/y) to 841,000 (SAAR) from 945,000 in October, revised from 999,000. September sales also [...]

• State initial claims reverse 2 prior weeks' increases. • PUA initial claims down in latest week, but still above November amounts. • Legislation for PUA and PEUC is still in negotiation. Seasonally adjusted initial claims for [...]