Economy in Brief: 2012

Consumer prices were unchanged last month, as expected. The figure left the y/y increase at 1.7%, down from its peak of 3.9% last September. Prices less food and energy increased a steady and expected 0.2% for the fourth straight [...]

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that during May, business inventories rose 0.3% for the third consecutive month. The modest gain lowered the y/y rise to 5.2%, its least since May of 2010. Business sales slipped 0.1% for the [...]

The Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions for July rose to 7.39 and recovered a piece of its June decline. Consensus expectations had been for rough stability at 3.5. Based on these figures, Haver Analytics [...]

For the first time since 2008, retail sales fell for a third consecutive month. During June, retail sales declined 0.5% after an unrevised 0.2% May slip. April's decline was revised to -0.5% from -0.2%. A 0.1% uptick in June sales was [...]

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for mid-July fell to 72.0 compared to 73.2 in June. The latest figure was the lowest since December and compared unfavorably to expectations for 73.5. A lower consumer [...]

The producer price index for finished goods ticked 0.1% higher last month following a 1.0% May decline. Consensus expectations were for a 0.4% decline. Despite the gain, the PPI rose just 0.8% during the last year, the weakest since [...]

The decline in import prices picked up speed last month.U.S. import prices fell 2.7% during June after a 1.2% May decline. A 1.5% decline had been expected. Prices fell across-the-board. Petroleum prices were off 10.5% last month [...]

Be it headline or core German inflation is headed lower. Despite being the strongest large economy in Europe, Germany is not building inflation pressure. Its diffusion reading over three-months is only 18% meaning that inflation is [...]