Economy in Brief: August 2020

• Crude oil prices show further strength. • Metals and lumber prices jump. The upturn in factory sector activity continues to support industrial materials prices. A 3.3% jump in July industrial output helped lift the Industrial [...]

• Mortgage demand wavers. • Applications to refinance an existing loan decline while purchase applications rise. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index fell 3.3% (+34.3% y/y) during the [...]

German employment growth took the expected hard hit in Q2 as jobs contracted at a 5.3% annual rate quarter-to-quarter. The year-over-year change is a drop of 1.3%. Clearly, the impact of the virus on employment levels has been [...]

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that during the second quarter of this year, retail sales via the internet (E-Commerce) rose 31.8% (SA) from Q1'20. The gain followed increases of 2.4% in Q1 and a 2.2% Q4'19 rise. This strength [...]

• Housing activity continues to recover following coronavirus shutdown. • Building permits hit six-month high. Improved activity in the housing sector continues to lead the economy out of recession. Housing starts strengthened 22.6% [...]

• Gasoline prices unchanged. • Crude oil prices edged up. • Natural gas prices rise to highest level since December 2019. Regular gasoline prices were unchanged at $2.17 per gallon (-16.6% y/y) in the week ended August 17. Prices have [...]

• Housing market activity continues to strengthen. • Number of prospective buyers posts a new record. • Strength is broad-based regionally. The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo [...]

GDP falls for third quarter in a row...it's not just the virus Japan's GDP made its worst fall in 40 years. The Cabinet Office says GDP shrank at an annualized 27.8% from the previous quarter in real terms. It's the worst result since [...]