Economy in Brief: April 2017

Japan trade trends, broadly considered, seem to be stabilizing. At 172 billion yen, Japan's March surplus is lower than in February but higher than January and about 100 billion yen below its three-month average. But in broad terms, [...]

Initial unemployment claims for unemployment insurance rose to 244,000 during the week ended April 15 (-5.1% y/y) from an unrevised 234,000 in the prior week. It was the highest level of claims in three weeks. Expectations had been [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Volume Index declined 1.8% last week (-24.9% y/y) in the week of April 14, more than reversing the 1.5% w/w rise in the preceding week. Refinancing [...]

The EMU trade surplus popped up again, reversing part of last month's drop. Still, the surplus appears to be on a declining path. Apart from last month, this month's surplus is the smallest in 16 months. However, it is too soon to [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Volume Index declined 1.8% last week (-24.9% y/y) in the week of April 14, more than reversing the 1.5% w/w rise in the preceding week. Refinancing [...]

Housing starts during March declined 6.8% to 1.215 million (AR), and retraced all of February's increase to 1.303 million, revised from 1.288 million. Expectations had been for 1.256 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

Regular gasoline prices increased to $2.44 per gallon last week (14.0% y/y), up versus $1.76 per gallon during February 2016. Prices remained lower than the 2014 high of $3.71 per gallon. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting [...]

Industrial production strengthened 0.5% during March (1.6% y/y) following a 0.1% February uptick, revised from no change. A 0.4% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Earlier figures reflect benchmark [...]