Economy in Brief: July 2018

The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index using new methodology gained 0.3% during June following an unrevised 0.5% strengthening in May. The 3.4% y/y rise was the strongest since November 2011. A 0.2% increase had been expected [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate during May fell to 4.3% from 4.4% in April, revised from 4.3%. It remained higher than the 3.7% rate twelve months earlier. (The job openings rate is the job [...]

The ZEW expectations and assessments were cut in July with average percentile standing ranking falling by 1.6 points and with France’s 4.3 point drop and Italy’s lone gain of 1.7 points as the outliers on either side. Apart from [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) indicated that its Small Business Optimism Index eased to 107.2 during June from 107.8 in May. It remained up sharply from the recent low of 92.6 in March 2016. A lessened 29% of [...]

Retail gasoline prices edged up to $2.86 per gallon last week (+24.4% year-on-year) from $2.84 per gallon during the prior week. Prices have ranged between $2.80 and $2.96 since the middle of April. Haver Analytics constructs factors [...]

Consumer credit outstanding rose $24.56 billion during May following a $10.27 billion April increase, revised from $9.26 billion. The $8.80 billion March increase was sharply lower than reported last month. The May gain was the [...]

The OECD’s LEI markers are on a razor’s edge path. Few of the major country or regional indexes are truly either weak or strong. The indicators cluster on the line of neutrality, failing to give us the comfort we seek in these [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) declined 2.1% during the last month, but rose 9.8% in the last year. It has fallen for three straight weeks. Despite the [...]