Economy in Brief: December 2016

Regular gasoline prices increased to $2.21 per gallon (7.5% y/y) last week, the highest level in four weeks. Prices remained down versus a 2014 high of $3.71 per gallon. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal [...]

Growth in nonfarm output per hour during Q3'16 was unrevised at 3.1% (SAAR, 0.0% y/y) following a 0.2% Q2 decline. A 3.3% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. It remained the strongest rise in two years. [...]

Manufacturing sector orders jumped 2.7% during October (1.3% y/y) following a 0.6% September gain, revised from 0.3%. Durable goods bookings increased 4.6% (1.8% y/y), revised from the advance estimate of a 4.8% rise. Transportation [...]

German orders surged in October, rising on a broad front. Both foreign and domestic orders jumped. Overall orders rose by 4.9% in October led by a 6.3% surge in domestic orders supported by a 3.9% gain in foreign orders. Order trend [...]

The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services increased to $42.6 billion during October from $36.2 billion in September, revised $36.4 billion. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a $42.0 billion deficit. Total imports [...]

The National Association for Business Economics forecast for 2.2% real U.S. economic growth next year compared to 2.3% in the last survey. This year's estimate also held fairly steady at 1.6%. The gains follow 2.6% in 2015 and a 2014 [...]

The Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) from the Federal Reserve Board includes 19 indicators of labor market activity, covering the broad categories of unemployment and underemployment. These include jobs, workweeks, wages, [...]

The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Business Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) rebounded to 57.2 during November from an unrevised 54.8 in October. The latest level was the highest since October 2015, [...]