Economy in Brief

The job market remained firm during June. Nonfarm payrolls increased 213,000 (1.6% y/y) following a 244,000 May rise and a 175,000 April gain. Together, payrolls during these two months were revised up by 37,000. A 191,000 rise in [...]

Strong IP gains for Germany German industrial production (IP) is up by a strong 2.6% in May after a 1.3% decline in April. Germany is breaking out of a period in which output gains have lagged. But we will have to watch closely to see [...]

The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services fell to $43.1 billion in May from a slightly downwardly revised $46.1 billion during April. It was the smallest deficit since October 2016. A $43.9 billion deficit had been expected by the [...]

The job market remained firm during June. Nonfarm payrolls increased 213,000 (1.6% y/y) following a 244,000 May rise and a 175,000 April gain. Together, payrolls during these two months were revised up by 37,000. A 191,000 rise in [...]

Orders overview: Germany's industrial orders rebounded in May with a 2.6% rise after a 1.6% decrease in April and a string of four straight monthly declines. Domestic orders jumped by 4.3%, nearly recovering April's 4.4% decline. [...]

Business activity in the service sector is strong. The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) rose to 59.1 during June from an unrevised 58.6 in May. It was the highest level [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 231,000 during the week ended June 30, an increase of 3,000 from the 228,000 of the prior week, which was revised up by a marginal 1,000. While obviously still quite low, the June 30 [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 177,000 (1.8% y/y) during June following a 189,000 May gain, revised from 178,000. A 185,000 rise had been expected in the Action Economics [...]