Economy in Brief: June 2021

German exports disappointed, ticking higher by just 0.3% in April after a 1.3% gain in March. Still, German imports fell by 1.7% after a 7.1% rise in March and those results pushed the German surplus to €15.8bln in April up from [...]

• Strength in inventories is broad-based. • Sales improvement follows March surge. • I/S ratio holds steady. Wholesale inventories increased 0.8% during April (5.2% y/y) following a 1.2% March increase, revised from 1.3%. The latest [...]

• Refinancing applications fall sharply, purchases edge higher. • Mortgage interest rates ease slightly. • Applications influenced by late holiday. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Loan Applications Index fell 3.1% (-25.7% y/y) in [...]

Germany's industrial production fell by 1% in April, dropping for the third time in four months. IP is lower over three months for Germany overall and for each manufacturing sector. Over six months German IP is making a gain, but that [...]

• Job openings rate strengthens across industries. • Hiring rate holds steady. • Layoffs decline while quits increase. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that on the last business day of April, the level of job openings rose to a [...]

• Gasoline prices appear to have plateaued. • Crude oil prices continue their ascent. • Natural gas prices appear to find a trough. Retail gasoline prices rose ever so slightly to $3.04 per gallon (49.1% y/y) in the week ended June 7 [...]

• Exports rose while imports fell. • Service surplus narrowed further. • Narrowing real deficit points to trade contributing to Q2 GDP growth. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services narrowed to $68.90 billion in April from a [...]

• Slip follows three months of increase. • Components are mixed. • Pricing power continues to strengthen. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small Business Optimism Index rose slipped to 99.6 [...]