Economy in Brief: July 2017

Consumer spending has discernibly weakened during the last two months. Total retail sales and spending at restaurants fell 0.2% during June (+3.2% y/y) following a 0.1% May dip, revised from -0.3%. A 0.1% increase had been expected in [...]

The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government ran a $90.2 billion budget deficit during June compared to a $6.3 billion surplus in June 2016. A $27.5 billion deficit had been expected in the Action Economics [...]

Initial unemployment insurance claims fell to 247,000 during the week ended July 8 from 250,000, revised from 248,000, in the prior week. Expectations called for 245,000 claims in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The four-week [...]

The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index improved 0.1% during June (2.0% y/y) after May's stability. No change in the index had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During the first six months of 2016, the [...]

Japan's retail sales fell by 0.5% in May, only partly negating the strong rise of 1.6% in April. As a result, sales are still strong, rising at a 6.8% annual rate over three months on a seasonally adjusted basis. Japan's sales are up [...]

Industrial production (headline excluding construction) is showing steady growth in the euro area. IP gained 1.3% in May after a 0.3% rise in April. Manufacturing IP rose by 1.3% after being flat in April. Both headline and [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) rose 0.7% during the last four weeks, and were up 9.4% during the last twelve months. This adds to the strength during [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Volume Index declined 7.4% (-37.0% y/y) in the week ended July 7, following a 1.4% rise. It was the lowest level of applications since mid-February. [...]