Economy in Brief: 2018

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate during July held steady m/m at a record 4.4%. It remained higher than the 4.1% rate twelve months earlier. (The job openings rate is the job openings level as a [...]

Wholesale inventories jumped 0.6% m/m (5.0% y/y) in July following an unrevised 0.1% m/m increase in June. The July increase is a little smaller than expected--the Informa Global Markets Survey had looked for a 0.7% m/m increase. [...]

Gasoline prices continue their recent sideways movement and were $2.83 per gallon last week (5.5% y/y). They remained down from the late-May high of $2.96. Haver Analytics constructs factors to adjust for the marked seasonal variation [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small Business Optimism Index rose to a record high of 108.8 during August. The index level was 3.3% higher than 12 months earlier. A record 34% of respondents [...]

Consumer credit outstanding increased $16.65 billion (4.6% y/y) during July after rising $8.47 billion in June, revised from $10.20 billion. A $14.0 billion gain had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During the [...]

The Bank of France survey shows a headline reading in August at 102.7; that is stronger than its July reading of 101. The BOF index peaked at 107.1 in December last year. It retreated sharply from its December reading to 104.3 in [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) fell 1.2% during the last four weeks and extended the decline in prices since the peak in the middle of June. The [...]

Germany's industrial production fell by 1.1% in July, dropping for the second consecutive month. Over three months, IP is advancing at a 1.1% annualized rate. Over six months, it is falling at a 2% pace. Over 12 months, it is rising [...]