Economy in Brief: October 2020

• Natural gas prices strengthen as seasonal demand increases; supply tightens. • Energy product demand declined while inventories rose. Natural gas prices increased 26.3% (21.8% y/y) to $2.74/mmbtu in the week ended October 23 after a [...]

The German IFO survey for October produced a gain of 1.4 points in overall 'Climate,' a progression of 5.9 points on its current all-sector index was logged as well as a decline of 0.7 on the all-sector index for expectations. For [...]

• New single-family home sales slipped but remain sharply higher y/y. • Sales declined modestly throughout most of the country. The market for new single-family homes has cooled recently. Sales declined 3.5% (+32.1% y/y) to 959,000 [...]

• Texas Manufacturing Outlook survey rose to a 19.8% balance; third consecutive positive reading. • Expectations measure edges up. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey General Business Activity Index [...]

• Index suggests slower economic growth. • Component performance is mixed. Forward economic momentum diminished last month. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's National Activity Index declined during September to 0.27 from 1.11 in [...]

In October manufacturing generally gained a little ground while the services sectors generally eroded for the sample economic units in the table. The U.S. services sector was a major exception, however, as it move strongly higher. As [...]

• Increases are scattered. • Crude oil costs continue to rise. The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) improved 0.2% during the last four weeks. The limited [...]

• Expectations resume upward trend. • Pricing power deteriorated. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that its manufacturing sector business activity index rose to 13 in October after falling to 11 in September from 14 in [...]