Economy in Brief: February 2018

The ISM composite index of business activity in the factory sector fell to 54.1 during December after rising to 59.3 in November. It was the lowest reading since November 2016. A level of 57.8 had been expected in the Action Economics [...]

Total sales of light vehicles during January declined 4.1% (-1.8% y/y) to 17.12 million (SAAR) following a 1.9% December increase to 17.85 million, according to the Autodata Corporation. It compared to an 18.6 million September high [...]

The value of construction put-in-place increased 0.7% (1.6% y/y) during December following a 0.6% November gain, initially reported as 0.8%. A 0.5% gain in activity had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During all [...]

The ISM manufacturing sector composite index eased to 59.1 during January from 59.3 in December, revised from 59.7. A level of 59.0 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During the last ten years, there has been a [...]

Output per hour in the nonfarm business sector slipped at a 0.1% annual rate during Q4'17 following a 2.7% Q3 rise, revised from 3.0%. It was the first decline in productivity since Q1'16. A 1.2% rise had been expected in the Action [...]

Initial unemployment insurance applications edged down to 230,000 (-8.0% y/y) during the week ended January 27 from 231,000 claims in the prior week, revised from 233,000. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey had been [...]

China's PMI as reported by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing shows a weaker result in February. (The Caixin Index for China's manufacturing is unchanged month-to-month at 51.5). China and the Philippines weakened in [...]