Economy in Brief: May 2012

During the last few months industrial commodity prices have fluctuated in a relatively narrow range. Nevertheless, at 170.3 the latest price index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) was 7.6% [...]

German IP jumped by 2.8% month-to-month in March rebounding from a small decline of 0.3% in February. As result of this strength IP is now up at a 15.8% annual rate over three months and is up by 0.2% in the first quarter over Q4. In [...]

The rate of labor market improvement picked up as indicated by the March job openings rate. It rose to 2.7%, the highest level since July 2008, and February was unrevised at 2.6%. The figures are in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job [...]

The pump price of regular gasoline fell another four cents last week to $3.79 per gallon, down for the fifth straight week. Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted price for regular declined twelve cents to $3.58 per gallon, also the [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Optimism Index improved to 94.5 last month from an unrevised 92.5 in March. The latest level matched the economic recovery high of last February. The percentage [...]

German orders are making an attempt at stability. Orders are up for the second month in a row for the first time since June of 2011. The one-month gain in March is a solid 2.2% rise. Foreign orders are driving the monthly result with [...]

Consumer credit outstanding returned to the fast growth track during March. It increased $21.3B (AR) following a $9.3B February gain, initially reported as $8.7B. A $10.0B increase had been expected by Action Economics. It raised [...]

German orders are making an attempt at stability. Orders are up for the second month in a row for the first time since June of 2011. The one-month gain in March is a solid 2.2% rise. Foreign orders are driving the monthly result with [...]