Economy in Brief: 2021

The future course of consumer price inflation has been a hot topic of discussion in the financial media of late. On the one hand, there some analysts, myself included, who believe that higher inflation is on the way, and not just a [...]

The Markit PMI 'flash' readings for March show improvement and for the most part - strong improvement - all up and down the line. Japan is the sole exception with a small improvement month-to-month based on small improvements in both [...]

• Refinancing applications decline as mortgage interestrates rise. • Purchase applications rise further. The Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Loan Applications Index declined 2.5% (-0.8% y/y) in the week ended March 19, the sixth [...]

• Fall in orders is broad-based and likely reflects severe winter weather. • Orders of core capital goods reverse January gain. • Shipments weaken but order backlogs & inventories rise. Manufacturers' orders for durable goods declined [...]

The U.K. CBI industrial trends survey shows a sharp improvement in orders in March. The total order reading jumped to -5 from February’s -24 as its sequential averages echoed the ongoing improvement in the sector. With that jump in [...]

• Sales decline across the country. • Median house prices ease. Harsh winter weather throughout the country kept many potential home buyers indoors last month. Sales of new single-family homes declined 18.2% (+8.2% y/y) during [...]

• Goods trade deficit sets record in 2020. • Services trade surplus declines to eight-year low. The U.S. current account deficit deepened to $188.5 billion during Q4'20 following a widening to $180.9 billion in Q3'20, revised from [...]

• Gasoline prices continued their rise, posting highest price since April 2019. • Crude oil prices edged down for second week in past three. • Natural gas prices fell for fourth consecutive week. The price of regular gasoline [...]