Economy in Brief: November 2012

Consumer price inflation eased last month. The overall consumer price index ticked up an expected 0.1% (2.2% y/y) following two successive 0.6% increases. The easing was due to a 0.2% (4.0% y/y) decline in energy prices following two [...]

Gasoline prices are being helped lower by reduced seasonal pressure. Last week, the pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell another four cents (+0.4%) to $3.45 per gallon. Since their September peak prices have fallen 43 [...]

Business inventories rose 0.7% following a 0.6% August rise. Quickened accumulation during the last three months reflected the gains in merchant wholesalers inventories driven by a 5.5% surge (11.9% y/y) in petroleum inventories. [...]

e-Zone manufacturing output fell by 2.6% in September, a sharper drop than had been expected. The drop comes after two months of increasing by 0.9% in each of them. Still IP in the zone is falling at a 3.6% annual rate over three [...]

The producer price index for finished goods fell 0.2% last month. The decline followed four months of increase and contrasted with expectations for a 0.2% rise. Excluding food & energy prices also fell 0.2% versus expectations for a [...]

Total retail sales fell 0.3% last month following an upwardly revised 1.3% September rise, initially reported as 1.1%. A 0.1% downtick in October sales was expected according to Action Economics. Excluding autos, retail sales also [...]

Total retail sales fell 0.3% last month following an upwardly revised 1.3% September rise, initially reported as 1.1%. A 0.1% downtick in October sales was expected according to Action Economics. Excluding autos, retail sales also [...]

German financial experts continue to see weakening conditions in Germany. The current index fell from 10 to 5.4 and expectations edged down to -15.7 from -11.5. At these levels the current index is stronger about 35% of the time [...]