Economy in Brief

Moderation in consumer price inflation was broad-based during August. Consumer prices rose 0.2% (2.7% y/y) following a 0.2% July gain. A 0.3% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The CPI excluding food & [...]

Industrial production trends show output slowing across all three sectors in the chart of 12-month rates of growth. Sequential growth rates from 12-months and less (table) do not show a steady deceleration but do show a legacy of [...]

The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index using new methodology eased 0.1% during August (+2.8% y/y) after holding steady in July. It was the first decline since February 2017. A 0.2% increase had been expected in the Action [...]

The ZEW financial experts in Germany weigh in each month on their perceptions of the state of the German economy and several other key economies or economic units. In September, ZEW experts see actual conditions as little-changed. [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate during July held steady m/m at a record 4.4%. It remained higher than the 4.1% rate twelve months earlier. (The job openings rate is the job openings level as a [...]

Wholesale inventories jumped 0.6% m/m (5.0% y/y) in July following an unrevised 0.1% m/m increase in June. The July increase is a little smaller than expected--the Informa Global Markets Survey had looked for a 0.7% m/m increase. [...]

Gasoline prices continue their recent sideways movement and were $2.83 per gallon last week (5.5% y/y). They remained down from the late-May high of $2.96. Haver Analytics constructs factors to adjust for the marked seasonal variation [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small Business Optimism Index rose to a record high of 108.8 during August. The index level was 3.3% higher than 12 months earlier. A record 34% of respondents [...]