Economy in Brief

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index declined 3.3% (+15.6% y/y) during the week ending May 24 and reversed the prior week's increase. The decline reflected a 6.0% drop (+29.3% y/y) in [...]

Retail gasoline prices fell three cents last week to $2.82 per gallon (-4.7% y/y), the third consecutive weekly decline. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally- [...]

BEA released on May 16 estimates of real personal income by state and metro area for 2017. The considerably lag reflects the methodology BEA uses to compute this data. First, estimates are made of consumer spending at these levels, [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index declined to -5.3 in May from 2.0 in April. This is the third consecutive monthly decline and the lowest [...]

The EU Commission index rose to 105.1 in May, a rise that brings it up still short of its March reading; this is its first increase after 15 straight months of declines. There were improvements in the readings for each of the largest [...]

The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index increased 3.8% (4.1% y/y) to 134.1 during May. The gain repeated its April improvement to an unrevised 129.2 and exceeded expectations for an increase to 130.0 in the [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index declined to -5.3 in May from 2.0 in April. This is the third consecutive monthly decline and the lowest [...]

With waning strength in housing starts and home sales, pricing power in the housing market has moderated. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index for house purchases rose 0.1% in March following a 0.4% gain during [...]