Economy in Brief: July 2019

Wholesale inventories increased 0.4% (7.7% y/y) during May following an unrevised 0.8% April gain. A 0.4% rise was expected in the Informa Global Markets Survey. Durable goods inventories increased 0.3% (10.8% y/y) in May after a 0.9% [...]

In May among reporting EMU members listed in the table, four show IP declines while five show increases month-to-month. In April there were five declines and in March the bottom fell out and seven declined. Output trends have [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index fell 2.4% (+34.2% y/y) during the week ending July 5 after the prior week's 0.1% dip. The decline reflected a 6.5% drop (+87.8% y/y) in applications [...]

U.S. retail gasoline prices increased for the first time in eight weeks, rising to $2.71 (-4.6% y/y) per gallon during the week ended July 1.............. These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be [...]

Italy continues to show wear and tear although the recent good news was that the EU Commission had decided not to impose sanctions on Italy for an excessive budget deficit. With that concern out of the way, Italy still may be facing a [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate eased to 4.6% during May from an unrevised 4.7% in April. It was unchanged from twelve months earlier. The job openings rate is the job openings level as a [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small Business Optimism Index fell to 103.3 during June and reversed the May gain. The decline followed four straight months of increase. The index fell 1.6% [...]

After falling for seven consecutive weeks, U.S. retail gasoline prices increased for the second consecutive week in the week ended July 8, rising to $2.74 per gallon (-4.0% y/y) from $2.71 in the previous week. Haver Analytics adjusts [...]