Economy in Brief

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Volume Index fell 4.9% last week (-12.5% y/y), following a 5.1% increase during the prior week. The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage was [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales of existing homes fell 0.5% during May (-2.2% y/y) following a 1.3% April decline. Sales fell to an index level of 105.9 (2001=100) which was the lowest level [...]

EMU money and credit growth both picked up in May but mainly in nominal terms. The graph shows the nominal year-on-year growth rates and in that depiction the advance in money and credit growth in May hardly stands out. When deflated [...]

New orders for durable goods fell 0.6% during May (+9.2% y/y) following a 1.0% April decline, revised from -1.7%. A 0.7% drop had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During the last three months, orders have risen [...]

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined to 126.4 during June (+7.8% y/y) following a May rise to 128.8, initially reported as 128.0. The June level fell short of expectations for 127.5 in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Nonmanufacturing Business Index of current conditions at the company level increased to 40.7 in June, the highest level in three years. Fifty-six percent of respondents reported an increase [...]

Japan’s PPI jumped by 0.5% in May as both consumer goods prices and intermediate goods prices gained 0.6% on the month. The headline PPI rose by 0.5% after a meager 0.1% increase in April and a 0.2% decline in March. In part, as a [...]

Retail gasoline prices declined to $2.83 per gallon last week (+23.8% y/y) from $2.88 per gallon during the prior week. Prices have fallen for four consecutive weeks. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal [...]