Economy in Brief: July 2019

The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index jumped 9.2% (6.1% y/y) to 135.7 during July and reversed its 5.3% June decline. It was the highest level since November. An increase to 125.0 had been expected in the [...]

Personal income increased 0.4% (4.9% y/y) during June for the fourth consecutive month. May was revised from 0.5%. A 0.3% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Revisions indicate more income growth in 2018 [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales rose a larger-than-expected 2.8% m/m in June (+1.6% y/y) on top of a 1.1% m/m gain in May. This was the highest reading for the index since December 2017. [...]

The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. fell again in the week ended July 29 to $2.72 (-4.6% y/y) from $2.75 the previous week. This is the lowest price in five weeks. Haver Analytics calculates a series which is [...]

Japan's economy is in the process of navigating a number of potentially wicked twists and turns of fate, some of its own making and some thrust upon it in a region gone topsy turvy. For now retail sales are edging higher year-on-year [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index of -6.3 during July compared to June's -12.1. It was the third consecutive monthly reading which was [...]

PPI developments once again underscore that inflation pressure is not building in the EMU. Mario Draghi is getting progressively more concerned about the European situation and condition. Draghi's term is coming to an end and he is [...]

Economic growth slowed last quarter, but not as much as expected. Real GDP increased 2.1% (AR) in Q2'19 (2.3% y/y) following an unrevised 3.1% increase during Q1. A 1.8% gain had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]