Economy in Brief: 2016

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Market Volume Index increased 7.2% last week, up roughly two-thirds y/y, to the highest level since June 2013. The rise was driven by an 11.2% increase in refinancing [...]

Euro area industrial output fell by 1.3% in May, giving back most of the gains from April's previously impressive 1.4% rise. However, April was preceded by a 0.8% drop so that on balance EMU area IP is lower at a 2.8% annual rate over [...]

Import prices rose 0.2% (-4.8% y/y) during June following a 1.4% surge in May. It was the smallest increase since a decline in February and fell short of expectations for a 0.5% rise in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These [...]

Inventories at the wholesale level notched 0.1% higher during May following a 0.7% April increase, revised from 0.6%. Nondurable goods sector inventories rose 0.2% (4.9% y/y) after a 1.6% jump. Farm-product inventories were strong [...]

The job openings rate declined to 3.7% during May from the record high of 3.9%. The private sector job openings rate fell to 3.9% from 4.2%. This rate compared to 2.4% in the public sector. The 4.8% rate in professional & business [...]

Rising inflation in Germany with still-weak conditions in the rest of the euro area is a prescription for more intense euro area conflict. And that may be what is now in train. Germany in June posted its second monthly HICP hike in a [...]

Regular gasoline prices fell to $2.25 per gallon last week (-20.5% y/y), down from $2.40 early last month, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Nevertheless, prices remained near the highest level since early September. Prices [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Small Business Optimism Index increased 0.7% during June to 94.5 following an unrevised 0.2% May rise. An improved -9% of firms were expecting the economy to improve, [...]