Economy in Brief: July 2015

The industrial commodity price index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) deteriorated during the last month. Factory sector production so far this year, both total and industrial supplies, has [...]

Exports and the EMU trade surplus fell in May. Exports fell by 1.5%. Imports were flat. The trade surplus fell to 21.2 billion euros in May from 23.9 billion euros in April. Exports fell on a broad front in May with manufacturing [...]

Housing starts during June increased 9.8% (26.5% y/y) to 1.174 million (AR) from 1.069 million in May, last month reported as 1.036 million. June's figure exceeded expectations for 1.108 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

The consumer price index increased 0.3% during June (0.1% y/y) following an unrevised 0.4% May gain. Prices excluding food & energy improved 0.2% (1.8% y/y) after a 0.1% rise. Both increases matched expectations in the Action [...]

Spanish orders and shipments (turnover) show some strength in May, but sequential growth rates for both show some evidence of slowing. Orders popped in May, surging by 3.3% in one month. This was the strongest monthly gain since [...]

The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo held steady during July at 60 (+13.2% y/y) versus an upwardly revised June. It was the highest level since November 2005 and exceeded [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index for July declined to 5.7 from an unrevised 15.2 in June. Expectations were for 12.0 in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The [...]

EU auto registration rose in June, advancing by 4.8% month-to-month and by 11.8% year-over-year. The country data range from a monthly gain of 6.6% in France to a 3.8% drop in Italy. Year- over-year registration gains range from 17.8% [...]