Economy in Brief: January 2020

The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions rose slightly to 4.8 in January from 3.3 in December. The index has been fairly steady since June. A reading of 3.3 had been expected by the Action Economics Forecast [...]

The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.1% during December (1.3% y/y) after having been unchanged in November. A 0.2% gain had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Producer prices excluding food & energy [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Index jumped 30.2% w/w (49.0% y/y) in the week ending January 10 on top of a 13.5% w/w rise in the previous week. Applications to refinance a loan surged 42.7% w/w [...]

Retail gasoline prices inched up to $2.58 per gallon (15.2% y/y) last week......... These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, [...]

Japan's economy watchers index is mixed in December. The current index improved slightly while the future index decayed slightly. More broadly, the current index declines over three months, over six months and 12 months. The drop in [...]

Japan's economy watchers index is mixed in December. The current index improved slightly while the future index decayed slightly. More broadly, the current index declines over three months, over six months and 12 months. The drop in [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small Business Optimism Index declined 1.9% (-1.6% y/y) to 102.7 during December and mostly reversed its November rise. The reading was 5.6% below the high in [...]

The Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% (2.3% y/y) during December following a 0.3% November rise and a 0.4% October gain. A 0.3% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The CPI excluding food & energy [...]