Economy in Brief: March 2017

The EMU has posted the largest one-month drop in its trade surplus on data back to January 1999. The surplus fell from 23.1 billion euros in December to 15.7 billion euros in January. The factor behind this deficit drop is the rise in [...]

Industrial production remained unchanged (+0.3% y/y) during February following a 0.1% January slip, revised from -0.3%. A 0.2% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Warm temperatures again provided a [...]

Two important reports are on tap today. One is the finalization of the HICP data and the new availability of core HICP data for the EMU and key EMU members. The second is vehicle registration in the EMU which are slowing. The key [...]

The total job openings rate of 3.7% during January held steady with the prior three months. Nevertheless, the rate was below July's peak of 4.0%. The private-sector job openings rate remained at 4.0%, where it was during all of last [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index fell to 32.8 during March from an unrevised 43.3 in February. The latest monthly reading compared to expectations for 29.5 in the [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance slipped to 241,000 (-6.9% y/y) during the week ended March 11 from an unrevised 243,000 claims in the week prior. The latest level remained near the lowest since April 1973. Expectations had [...]

Housing starts during February improved 3.0% to 1.288 million (AR) from 1.251 million in January, revised from 1.246 million. Expectations had been for 1.260 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts of single- [...]

At today's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the targeted federal-funds rate was increased to a range of 0.75% to 1.00%, from 0.50% to 0.75%. It remained the highest target range since the end of 2008, and followed two [...]