Economy in Brief

U.S. GDP declined 4.8% (SAAR) last quarter following a 2.1% Q4 2019 rise. A 3.8% fall had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The decline was the first since Q1'14 and the largest since an 8.4% drop in Q4'08. The [...]

U.S. GDP declined 4.8% (SAAR) last quarter following a 2.1% Q4 2019 rise. A 3.8% fall had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The decline was the first since Q1'14 and the largest since an 8.4% drop in Q4'08. The [...]

The Federal Reserve left the target for the Fed funds rate in a range of 0.00% to 0.25% at today's meeting of the FOMC. In the Fed's press release, it stated "The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to [...]

• Crude oil prices collapsed last week but have rebounded recently. • Gasoline prices fall as drivers shelter at home. • Natural gas prices have been volatile. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil collapsed to $3.83 [...]

• Appraisal of current conditions plunges but expectations rise. • Buying plans falter. • All age groups exhibit less confidence. The Conference Board's Index of Consumer Confidence declined 26.9% (-32.7% y/y) during April to a level [...]

The French surveys have been very weak in April (graph/table). The household survey (table), despite its seemingly mild drop in April, has actually logged the largest month-to-month drop (a drop of 8 points) in the history of the [...]

• Exports and imports decline sharply. • Export weakness was broad-based. • Import declines were mixed amongst product categories. The advance estimate of the U.S. trade deficit in goods grew to $64.22 billion in March from $59.88 in [...]

• Crude oil prices collapsed last week but have rebounded recently. • Gasoline prices fall as drivers shelter at home. • Natural gas prices have been volatile. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil collapsed to $3.83 [...]