Economy in Brief

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Volume Index declined 3.3% last week (-2.3% y/y), following a 4.8% increase during the prior week. Purchase loan applications fell 2.1% (+5.2% y/y), after [...]

Manufacturers' orders rebounded 1.2% (+7.1% year-on-year) during February following a 1.3% decline in January. Manufacturing shipments increased 0.2% (+6.1% y/y) to a record high $501 billion. Shipments have risen for 11 consecutive [...]

Business activity in the service sector moderated last month. The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) slipped to 58.8 during March from an unrevised 59.5 in February. It [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 241,000 (1.9% y/y) during March following a 246,000 February gain, revised from 235,000. A 210,000 rise had been expected in the Action [...]

Total sales of light vehicles increased 2.4% during March (3.9% y/y) to 17.48 million units (SAAR), following two months of decline, according to the Autodata Corporation. Despite the rebound, last month's sales remained below an [...]

There is a definite softer spot being hit by the global PMIs in March. The unweighted PMI average is at 52.5 in March, down from 53.2 in February and 53.5 in January. In addition, 12 of 17 country indexes (excluding the EMU aggregate) [...]

Retail gasoline prices increased to $2.70 per gallon last week (14.4% y/y) and landed at the highest level since August 2015. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The [...]

The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.1% (3.7% y/y) during February following unrevised stability in January. A 0.4% rise in building activity had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Private sector [...]