Economy in Brief

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Index increased 5.2% (68.0% y/y) in the week ending October 4, following an 8.1% rise during the prior week. Applications to refinance a loan gained 9.8% (+162.5% y/y) [...]

These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. More detail on prices, demand, production and inventories, including regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY. [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small Business Optimism Index declined 1.3% (-5.7% y/y) to 101.8 during September. It was the third decline in four months and left the index at the lowest level [...]

A monthly rebound, yes, but NO green shoots The August 0.3% rebound in German IP and the stronger rebound of 0.7% in German manufacturing IP are surprises that were not tipped off by German orders or by the German PMI or by other [...]

The Producer Price Index for final demand fell 0.3% during September (+1.4% y/y) following a 0.1% uptick during August. A 0.1% gain had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Producer prices excluding food & energy [...]

In the week ended October 7, the U.S. pump price for gasoline edged up to $2.65 per gallon (-8.9% y/y) from $2.64 the previous week. This price has been relatively stable for the past three weeks. Haver Analytics adjusts these price [...]

Consumer credit outstanding increased $17.90 billion (5.0% y/y) during August following a $23.06 billion July surge, revised from $23.30 billion. A $15.0 billion gain had been expected by the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]

Germany's manufacturing orders continue to run weak. Overall orders are still declining. Total orders have fallen month-to-month five times in the past eight months. Currently, order weakness concentrates in the domestic sector where [...]