Economy in Brief: May 2020

• Financing rates fall and are at or near record low.... • Purchase volume rose for third consecutive week as some states begin to reopen. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Application Index edged up [...]

On a day that the U.K. has reported a 5.8% drop its economic activity in one month the largest ever, the EMU IP report finalizes with its own 11.3% drop in March. Manufacturing IP dropped by 12.3% in March as well. Of the Fifteen [...]

• Lower oil prices drag the PPI lower. • Prices for other goods weaken. • Services prices decline. Industrial sector pricing power remains weak with the downturn in economic activity. The Producer Price Index for final demand declined [...]

• Financing rates remain near record lows. • Purchase volume rose for fourth consecutive week while refinancings faded further. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Application Index edged up 0.3% w/w [...]

• NFIB Small Business Optimism Index falls to a seven-year low 90.7 in April. • Nine out of ten components decline except expectations economy will improve. • Deflationary pressures set in with a record net 3% of firms planning on [...]

• Outlays surge as government begins economic stimulus payments. • Receipts decline as businesses close down and tax payments are delayed. With recession developing, the government's financial situation is deteriorating. The U.S. [...]

The OECD's own headline on this report flags the LEIs as showing an 'unprecedented collapse,' I have simply gone with their lede. Weakness globally stems from the nearly synchronous spread of the Coronavirus and the impact of policies [...]

• Gasoline prices recoup earlier declines. • Crude oil costs reach four-week high. • Natural gas prices strengthen. Retail gasoline prices increased to $1.85 per gallon (-35.4% y/y) in the week ended May 11 from $1.79 per gallon in [...]