Economy in Brief: 2019

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index gained 2.7% (8.0% y/y) during the week ending May 3. It was the first increase in five weeks. Applications to purchase a home rose 4.2% (4.9% y/y), [...]

Consumer credit outstanding increased $10.27 billion (5.0% y/y) during March, less than the $15.47 billion February addition, revised from $15.18 billion. It was the smallest rise in nine months and lessened three-month growth to 4.4% [...]

Germany's real orders continue to run weak. Orders rose by 0.6% in March, a weak rebound from a 4% decline in February and a 2.1% drop in January. Foreign orders gained a solid 4.2% (still unimpressive in the wake of a 5.8% February [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate rebounded to 4.7% during March after declining sharply to 4.5% in February. The job openings rate is the job openings level as a percent of total employment plus [...]

Retail gasoline prices improved by one penny last week to $2.90 per gallon (1.8% y/y) after rising five cents during the prior week. It was the highest level since early-October and roughly matched the 2018 high. Haver Analytics [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) fell 1.3% during the last four weeks and was 11.6% below the prior year's level. Declines y/y were notable for metals [...]

Retail sales volumes in the EMU are slightly elevated but remain on a moderate growth path after going flat month-to-month in March. Sales volume is up by 1.8% over 12 months, accelerating over six months and accelerating also over [...]

The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) slipped to 55.5 in April from 56.1 in March. This was the fourth monthly decline in the past five months but leaves the index still [...]