Economy in Brief

The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index eased 0.1% during March after a 0.3% February rise. Nevertheless, the y/y increase of 2.2% was the strongest since March 2012. The monthly decline compared to expectations for no change [...]

The U.S. Treasury Department reported that during March, the federal government ran a $176.2 billion budget deficit compared to a $108.0 billion deficit in March 2016. A $150.0 billion deficit had been expected in the Action Economics [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Market Volume Index increased 1.5% last week (-22.5% y/y) and reversed the prior week's decline. Refinancing applications remained steady (-40.0% y/y) following a 4.2% [...]

Japan's core machinery orders strip out the large lumpy projects that can dominate the series. The core orders are what's left. That series is up by 1.5% in February, reversing a 3.2% drop in January after a 2.1% increase in December. [...]

Import prices declined 0.2% (+4.2% y/y) during March following a 0.4% February increase, revised from 0.2%. A 0.3% fall had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These figures are not seasonally adjusted. Petroleum [...]

A number of analysts have been showing this sort of chart recently or aggregating 'hard data' vs. 'soft data' and showing the divergence. Well, let me ask you something. If I cut you a slice of orange, would you expect it to taste [...]

Regular gasoline prices increased to $2.42 per gallon last week (17.2% y/y), up versus $2.18 per gallon during November 2016. Prices remained lower than the 2014 high of $3.71 per gallon. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate of 3.8% during February increased m/m, but remained below July's peak of 4.0%. The private-sector job openings rate improved to 4.1% versus 4.0% during all of [...]