Economy in Brief: April 2020

• Crude oil prices slid lower last week and dropped further yesterday. • Gasoline prices fall as drivers stay off the road. • Natural gas prices ease. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil weakened to $20.10 (-68.5% y/y) [...]

In the EMU, neither exports nor imports show much zest. But exports had some life in their year-on-year trend and that is helping to drive a wider surplus in the EMU area. Broadly both exports and imports are fluctuating in relatively [...]

• The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago indicated that the economy entered a downturn in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The National Activity Index (CFNAI) declined to -4.19 during March from 0.06 in February, revised from 0.16. The [...]

• Record decline of 6.7% in leaders reflects widespread effects from coronavirus. • Coincident indicators signal nascent recession. • Lagging indicators confirm large downshift in economy. The Conference Board reported that its [...]

Japan's industrial production fell by 0.3% in February after two straight months of gains with January having been especially strong. Mixed trends Japan's industrial production trend has two distinct aspects. From 12-months to six- [...]

The only sure things in life are death, taxes and the fact that the coronavirus will haunt you if not stalk you down. The February IP accounting from the EMU is the last report from the EMU on IP before the abject weakness from the [...]

• Initial jobless claims decline to 5.245 million in the week ending April 11. • Over the last four weeks 22.4 million people have filed new claims. • Thirty-nine states had decreases, but all remain at historic amounts Initial [...]

• Business activity weakens broadly. • Improved expectations reading likely helped by stimulus plan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index declined sharply to -56.6 [...]