Economy in Brief

• Gain in core finished goods PPI picks up. • Energy prices decline. • Service price inflation eases. The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.6% (6.2% y/y) during April following a 1.0% March gain. The index has risen at [...]

• Gain in core finished goods PPI picks up. • Energy prices decline. • Service price inflation eases. The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.6% (6.2% y/y) during April following a 1.0% March gain. The index has risen at [...]

• Initial claims fall to another pandemic low. • State continuing claims and insured unemployment rate edged down. • PUA and PEUC continuing claims rose. Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 473,000 in the week ended [...]

• Financing rates fall and are at or near record low.... • Purchase volume rose for third consecutive week as some states begin to reopen. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Application Index edged up [...]

On a day that the U.K. has reported a 5.8% drop its economic activity in one month the largest ever, the EMU IP report finalizes with its own 11.3% drop in March. Manufacturing IP dropped by 12.3% in March as well. Of the Fifteen [...]

• Lower oil prices drag the PPI lower. • Prices for other goods weaken. • Services prices decline. Industrial sector pricing power remains weak with the downturn in economic activity. The Producer Price Index for final demand declined [...]

• Financing rates remain near record lows. • Purchase volume rose for fourth consecutive week while refinancings faded further. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Application Index edged up 0.3% w/w [...]

• NFIB Small Business Optimism Index falls to a seven-year low 90.7 in April. • Nine out of ten components decline except expectations economy will improve. • Deflationary pressures set in with a record net 3% of firms planning on [...]