Economy in Brief: February 2021

The OECD leading indicators rose by a 'tick' to 99.7 in January from 99.6 in December. November was 99.4; October was 99.3. Clearly the strengthening trend continues, but it is a very mild and possibly fragile trend. The pace of [...]

• Both the job openings rate & the number of openings improve. • Hiring activity weakens. • Layoffs decline as the level of quits increases. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that on the last business day of December, the total [...]

• NFIB Small Business Optimism slips to lowest level since May. • Worries about economic growth & sales persist. • Pricing power improves marginally. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small [...]

• Gasoline prices rise to highest level in nearly a year. • Oil prices post first y/y increase since January 2020. • Natural gas prices jump up to highest level since March 2019. The price of regular gasoline increased to $2.46 per [...]

German IP data show several diverse and sometimes opposite trends. The graphic depicts year-on-year growth rates over 12 months and those show conditions that are either steadily improving (intermediate goods) or continuing to show [...]

• Metals prices decline. • Price gains elsewhere continue. The Industrial Materials Price Index, from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER), increased a modest 0.9% during the four weeks ended [...]

• Credit card financing has been falling sharply. • Nonrevolving credit usage is slowing. Consumers continue to strengthen their balance sheets. Consumer credit outstanding rose a seasonally adjusted& $9.7 billion (-0.0% y/y) during [...]

• Service sector remains notably weak. • Earnings growth moderates. • Unemployment rate declines sharply to lowest level since March. Weakness in the labor market persists. Nonfarm payroll employment improved just 49,000 during [...]