Economy in Brief: July 2016

The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Business Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) strengthened to 56.5 during June versus an unrevised 52.9 in May. It was the highest level since November. Consensus [...]

German orders (all data in real terms) came up flat in May after a 1.9% decline in April. Despite the poor two-month run of orders, orders are still advancing at a 2.9% annual rate over three months and the real orders series actually [...]

The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $41.1 billion in May from an unrevised $37.4 billion in April. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had expected a $40.0 billion deficit. The latest figure was the deepest in [...]

Retail sales volumes in the euro area in May grew by a solid 0.4% but in the wake of a 0.2% gain in April and after a 0.6% drop in March. Over the last three months, retail sales are still contracting on balance in the EMU. The [...]

New orders to manufacturers declined 1.0% (-0.2% y/y) during May following a little-revised 1.8% April gain. A 0.9% decline had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Durable goods orders fell 2.3%, which was roughly [...]

Total sales of light vehicles during June declined 4.5% versus May (-2.0% y/y) to 16.66 million units (SAAR), the lowest level in three months. Auto sales fell 5.0% to 6.76 million units (-11.2% y/y). The decline reflected a 4.1% fall [...]

The value of construction put-in-place declined 0.8% (+2.8% y/y) during May following a 2.0% April drop, revised from -1.8%. A 0.7% increase was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Data back to 2014 were revised. [...]

Factory sector activity continues to firm following last year's weakness. The ISM Composite Index of manufacturing activity increased to 53.2 during June following an unrevised May gain to 51.3. The latest level was the highest since [...]