Economy in Brief

The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo was unchanged (+6.8% y/y) at 68 during July, which was unrevised. The latest reading compared to expectations for 69 in the Informa Global [...]

The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production increased 0.6% (3.8% y/y) during June following a 0.5% May decline, revised from -0.1%. April's 1.1% rise was stronger than reported earlier. The June rise matched expectations [...]

European car registrations rose by 0.4% in June, a much slower pace than the 5.7% gain in May. Still, over three months, registrations are fading. Over six months, registrations have a strong 14.9% gain. But over 12 months, a [...]

Retail gasoline prices edged up to $2.87 per gallon last week (+25.8% y/y) from $2.86 per gallon during the prior week. Prices have ranged between $2.80 and $2.96 since the middle of April. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.4% (4.4% y/y) during May following a 0.3% April increase. Total business sales strengthened 1.4% (8.6% y/y), following a 0.6% gain. The inventory-to-sales ratio slipped to 1.34. It peaked early [...]

Consumers continued spending last month, but at a moderated pace. Total retail sales increased 0.5% during June following a 1.3% May increase, revised from 0.8%. The 6.6% y/y increase was, however, the strongest since February 2012. [...]

The graph tells a clear story of what trade trends are up to. Both exports and imports have been losing momentum. The trade surplus has been under a trend of gradual but steady reduction. Year-on-year manufacturing exports are up by [...]

The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions decreased to 22.6 in July, from an eight-month high of 25.0 in June. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a 21.0 reading. These data, reported by the Federal [...]