Economy in Brief: 2020

• Mortgage applications rose for the third consecutive week with both purchase and refinancing applications up. • The 15-year fixed rate mortgage rate edged up slight after having been falling to a record low in the previous week. The [...]

Japan's inflation continues to be moderate. The June result brought the first month-to-month gain in the headline since December. The first five months of the year produced inflation headlines that were either unchanged or lower [...]

• Data suggest recession is ending. • Production & income rise while employment holds fairly steady. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported that the National Activity Index (CFNAI) increased to 4.11 during June from 3.50 in May, [...]

• Gasoline prices slip. • Crude oil prices rise slightly. • Natural gas prices ease. The price for regular gasoline slipped to $2.19 per gallon (-20.5% y/y) in the week ended July 20 from $2.20 in the previous week. Prices remained [...]

• Prices continue to increase across sectors. • Crude oil prices are strengthening. • Metals rise while lumber prices soar. Improved activity in the factory sector continues to bolster industrial materials prices. A 7.2% jump in June [...]

Japan's trade deficit lingers as trade flows continue to implode and fall at ever faster rates over shorter horizons- from 12-months to six-months to three-months. In June, exports logged only their fourth increase in the last 14 [...]

EMU inflation is weak. Inflation trends are weak and over the past 5 years inflation has been consistently below its targeted pace. That explains why the ECB has engaged in all sorts of policies to try to revive growth and is still [...]

• Home building continues to recover from coronavirus shutdown. • Building permits increase modestly. Low mortgage rates are bolstering new home building activity. Residential housing starts strengthened 17.3% last month (-4.0% y/y) [...]