Key Economic Indicators – November 4, 2013

  • Advance estimates of retail and food services sales for September were down 0.1% from the previous month, but were up 3.2% from September 2012.
  • Total manufacturing and trade sales for August were up 0.3% from the previous month, and were up 4.2% from August 2012. Total manufacturers’ and trade inventories for August were up 0.3% from the previous month, and were up 3.1% from August 2012.
  • Total Industrial production increased 0.6% in September, after a 0.4% increase in the previous month. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 78.3%, 1.9 percentage points below its 1972-2012 average, but 1.1 percentage points above its level in September 2012.
  • The federal government budget ran a surplus of $75.1 billion in September, after a deficit of $147.9 billion in the previous month. The budget surplus of $75.1 in September was $0.1 billion less than the surplus in September of 2012. The budget deficit for the fiscal year 2013 was $680.3 billion, $408.9 billion less than the deficit of $1,089.2 billion for the previous fiscal year.
  • The S & P/Case-Shiller National U.S. Home Price Indices posted annual increases of 12.8% in the 12 months ending in August.
  • The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator for the housing sector, decreased 5.6% to a reading of 101.6 in September, according to the National Association of Realtors. This was the fourth consecutive monthly decrease.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of October 31st showed average fixed mortgage rates declining for the second consecutive week.
  • Mortgage applications increased 6.4% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending October 25th.
  • The producer price index for finished goods decreased 0.1% in September, following a 0.3% increase in the previous month. The core index, which held steady in August, increased 0.1% in September. The producer price index for finished goods increased 0.3% from September 2012 to September 2013.
  • The consumer price index increased 0.2% in September, following a 0.1% increase in the previous month. The core index increased 0.1%, the same increase as in the previous month. The consumer price index increased 1.2% for the 12-month period ending in September, while the core index rose 1.7%.
  •  The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 10 thousand to 340 thousand in the week ending October 26th.
  • Real average hourly earnings for all employees were unchanged from August to September.
  • The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing survey indicated that the manufacturing sector expanded in October for the fifth consecutive month.
  • The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which had declined moderately in September, decreased sharply in October.

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