Economy in Brief: March 2013

The Mortgage Bankers Association index of total mortgage applications declined 7.1% (12.2% y/y) last week following a 4.7% decline during the prior period. Home purchase applications posted a 3.9% decline (+6.4% y/y). Applications to [...]

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales gained 1.4% last week (2.3% y/y) to the highest level since early-January. These gains pulled sales so March sales 1.9% above the February [...]

The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell by just 1 penny last week to $3.70 per gallon (-4.4% y/y), the third consecutive week of marginal decline. Despite the decline, prices remain up by 44 cents (13.6%) since the mid- [...]

Germany's Zew index which surveys the assessments of select financial experts in Germany continued to rise in March. This Zew expectations index rose to 48.5 in March from 48.2 in February. While continuing a series of gains, the [...]

Last month saw a firming in home building activity. Total housing starts ticked up 0.8% (27.7% y/y) to 917,000 (AR) following a decline to 910,000 during January, initially reported as 890,000. The latest figure roughly matched the [...]

The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo fell to 44 this month following a downwardly revised February reading of 46. Expectations were for 47 in March. Nevertheless, the index [...]

Trade trends for EMU - The EMU trade surplus shrank in January as imports rose sharply month-to-month and as exports posted some growth as well. While exports are showing some sign of revival, the three-month rate of growth is only [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that the Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions held above break-even in March, for the second consecutive month. The latest reading of 9.24 dipped from 10.04 in [...]