Key Economic Indicators – May 12, 2014

  • Sales of merchant wholesalers in March were up 1.4% from the previous month, while inventories were up 1.1%.
  • In March, international trade deficit was $40.5 billion, compared with a deficit of $41.9 billion in the previous month.
  • March consumer credit outstanding increased to $17.5 billion, compared with $13.0 billion in the previous month.
  • Productivity decreased 1.7% in the first quarter, following a 2.3% increase in the previous month. Unit labor costs rose 4.2%, following a decrease of 0.4% in the previous quarter. Productivity was up 1.4% from the first quarter of 2013, while unit labor costs were up 0.9%.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 26 thousand to 319 thousand in the week ending May 3.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 8th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving down further.
  • Mortgage applications increased 5.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 2nd.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.