Economy in Brief: February 2020

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Application Index rose 1.5% (70.2% y/y) during the week ending February 21 following a 6.4% decline in the previous week. Purchase applications rebounded 5.7% (10.6% [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose 0.2% (-0.5% y/y) during February to an index level of 130.7 (1985=100). The rise followed a 1.7% January increase, revised from 2.7%. An increase to 132.5 had been expected in the [...]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index increased 0.6% during December following a 0.3% November gain, revised from 0.2% and a 0.3% increase in October. Prices rose 5.3% during all of 2019, the weakest increase since [...]

The French business climate gauge moved up to 102.5 in February from 101.9 in January striking a 2.3 percentile standing just above its historic median. It is a reading slightly above ‘normal' and the highest mark reached since August [...]

Retail gasoline prices increased to $2.47 per gallon (3.2% y/y) in the week ended February 24 from $2.43 per gallon in the previous week. Despite increases during the latest two weeks, prices remained below an early-May peak of $2.90 [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index increased to 1.2 this month from -0.2 in January. The figure is a diffusion index with readings above zero [...]

With the coronavirus spreading to Europe and now harassing economic conditions in Italy spreading to Iran and Iran in turn spreading it in the Middle East, it is clearly a time to micro-manage the outlook. Every new piece of [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago indicated that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to -0.25 during January from -0.51 in December. The three-month moving average of the index gained to -0.09, the highest level since August. [...]