Economy in Brief: 2019

U.S. retail gasoline prices increased for the first time in eight weeks, rising to $2.71 (-4.6% y/y) per gallon during the week ended July 1.............. These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be [...]

Italy continues to show wear and tear although the recent good news was that the EU Commission had decided not to impose sanctions on Italy for an excessive budget deficit. With that concern out of the way, Italy still may be facing a [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate eased to 4.6% during May from an unrevised 4.7% in April. It was unchanged from twelve months earlier. The job openings rate is the job openings level as a [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small Business Optimism Index fell to 103.3 during June and reversed the May gain. The decline followed four straight months of increase. The index fell 1.6% [...]

After falling for seven consecutive weeks, U.S. retail gasoline prices increased for the second consecutive week in the week ended July 8, rising to $2.74 per gallon (-4.0% y/y) from $2.71 in the previous week. Haver Analytics adjusts [...]

Consumer credit outstanding increased $17.10 billion during May (5.2% y/y) following a $17.50 billion April rise, revised from $17.49 billion. These gains were the strongest since the end of last year. A $16.0 billion increase had [...]

German IP ticked higher in May, rising by 0.3% month-to-month after a 2% decline in April. German IP is declining over 12 months, six months and three months, but there is no trend deterioration. Growth is not getting progressively [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) was little changed during the last four weeks. It declined, however, by 4.6% during the last three months as activity in [...]