Economy in Brief: May 2019

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index increased to 16.6 during May after falling to 8.5 in April. It was the highest index level since January. A reading of 9.5 had [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell 16,000 to 212,000 (-4.1% year-on-year) during the week ended May 11 from an unrevised reading of 228,000 in the previous week. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a smaller [...]

Housing starts rose 5.7% during April to 1.235 million units (SAAR) following a March improvement to 1.168 million units, revised from a slight m/m decline. Despite the latest increase, housing starts were 2.5% lower than one year [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.3% (4.9% year-on-year) during February, after a slightly upwardly-revised 0.9% gain in January. Total business sales edged up 0.1% (2.4% y/y) following a 0.3% rise. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) [...]

Industrial production fell a greater-than-expected 0.5% (+0.9% year-on-year) during April following an upwardly-revised 0.2% gain in March (was -0.1%). The Action Economics Survey forecast an unchanged reading for April. Manufacturing [...]

Canadian headline and core inflation both end April either at the 2% mark or above the 2% mark. The CPI-X lags with a 1.5% pace year-over-year. So has the bank of Canada hit its target or not? For Canada, that is more a matter of [...]

The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo rose to 66 during May, the highest level since October. Despite the improvement, the index remained below the expansion high of 74 reached [...]

The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions strengthened to 17.8 during May, the highest level in six months. The latest level, however, remained below the high of 27.1 in October 2017. The Action Economics [...]