Economy in Brief: August 2012

The producer price index for finished goods rose 0.3% last month after a 0.1% June uptick. The gain beat expectations for a 0.2% rise. Excluding food & energy, prices gained 0.4% (2.6% y/y), the strongest rise since January. A 0.2% [...]

Finally the consumer grew tired of not spending and July retail sales rose 0.8%. The gain followed a deepened 0.7% June drop and a downwardly revised 0.1% May dip. A 0.3% increase in July sales was expected according to Action [...]

Weakening industrial economies have been accompanied by mixed pricing patterns in commodities. At 162.5, the latest price index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) is 5.2% lower than its April [...]

During July, the Federal Government ran a budget deficit of $69.6B, according to figures released by the U.S. Treasury. So far this fiscal year the deficit totaled $973.84B, down from $1,100.0B during the first ten months of FY'11. As [...]

While Industrial output in the Zone has been slowing or contracting on a broad front for some time the most dramatic slowdown has been in Germany. For a while it was just German IP growth falling from very rapid rates of growth down [...]

U.S. import prices fell 0.6% during July following a 2.4% June decline, revised from -2.7%. A 0.2% uptick had been expected. Prices continued lower in most categories. Petroleum prices declined 1.6% (-12.3% y/y), off for the fourth [...]

Lower oil prices continue at the forefront of trade sector improvement.The U.S. June foreign trade deficit narrowed to $42.9B from $48.0B in May, initially reported as $48.7B. Expectations were for a deficit of $47.8B. Exports rose [...]

Initial unemployment insurance claims fell to 361,000 during the week ended August 4 from 367,000 during the prior week, revised from 365,000. An uptick in claims to 370,000 had been expected. The four-week moving average of claims [...]