Key Economic Indicators – April 13, 2015

  • Sales of merchant wholesalers in January were down 3.3% from the previous month, and down 0.3% from January of 2014. Sales of durable goods were down 1.3% in January, while sales of nondurable goods were down 5.1%. Inventories of merchant wholesalers were up 0.2% from the previous month, and were up 6.1% from January 2014.
  • February consumer credit outstanding increased at an annual rate of 5.6%. Revolving credits decreased 5.0%, while non-revolving credits increased 9.4%.
  • The import price index decreased 0.3% in March, following a 0.2% increase in the previous month. The overall import price index decreased 10.5% from March 2014. During the same period, the fuel index decreased 45.2%, while the non-fuel index decreased 1.9%.
  • The export price index increased 0.1%, following a 0.2% decrease in the previous month. The overall export price index decreased 6.7% from March 2014. During the same period, agricultural export prices were down 13.5%, while non-agricultural export prices were down 5.9%.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 14 thousand to 281 thousand in the week ending April 4. The 4-week moving average was 282.25 thousand, a decrease of 3 thousand from the previous week’s revised average.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed average fixed mortgage rates moving lower following a weaker than expected jobs report for March. 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.66% for the week ending April 9, down from a week earlier when it averaged 3.70%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.34%.
  • Mortgage applications increased 0.4% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending April 3rd.
  • In March, the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing survey results indicated growth for the 62nd consecutive month.

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