Economy in Brief: April 2016

Regular gasoline prices increased to $2.16 per gallon last week (-15.9% y/y) after rising to $2.14 in the prior week, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The price compares to a low of $1.72 in February, but remained down from [...]

New orders for durable goods increased 0.8% during March (-2.5% y/y) following a 3.1% February decline, revised from -2.8%. A 1.9% improvement had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. A 2.9% rebound (-4.8% y/y) in [...]

Sales of new single-family homes declined 1.5% during March to 511,000 (SAAR) versus 519,000 in February, revised from 512,000. Despite the decline, sales increased 5.4% y/y. Sales of 520,000 had been expected in the Action Economics [...]

The Ifo business climate index slipped to 106.6 in April from 106.7 in March but had been expected to rise. We plot the chart and offer a table of the diffusion version of the overall and sector indices which afford a look at Ifo [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index declined during April to -1.6 from an unrevised 12.4 in March. It reversed improvement during the prior two months. The decline [...]

The EMU flash readings for manufacturing and services tell a pretty clear story of the euro area's ongoing struggle to sustain stronger growth. Both sectors remain above 50, showing expansion. But neither is impressively or even [...]

The National Activity Index from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago fell to -0.44 during March. It was the weakest reading since January 2014, suggesting that economic growth was slightly below trend. At -0.18, the three month moving [...]

U.K. retail sales fell sharply in March dropping by 1.4% after falling by 0.7% in February. These two drops followed a sizeable hike of 2% in January. But that 2% rise is less impressive than it seems having followed a drop of 1.2%. [...]