June 23rd, 2014
- Total Industrial production increased 0.6% in May, following a 0.3% decline in April. Total industrial production in May was up 4.3% from May 2013.
- The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 79.1% in May, compared with 77.8% in May of 2013.
- Housing starts decreased 6.5% in May, while building permits decreased 6.4%. The total number of starts was 1.001 million in May, up 9.4% from a year ago.
- The housing market index of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo increased 4 points to 49 in June.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of June 19th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving slightly lower for the week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 1.0% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending June 20th.
- The current account deficit rose to $111.2 in the first quarter, from $87.3 billion in the previous quarter.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 6 thousand to 312 thousand in the week ending June 14.
- The consumer price index (headline index) rose 0.4% in May, while the core index increased 0.3%. The consumer price index increased 2.1% for the 12-month period ending in May, while the core index rose 1.9%.
- The June 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity was strong and steady in the New York manufacturing sector.
- The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey for June indicated strength in manufacturing activity.
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June 16th, 2014
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales increased 0.3% in May, following a 0.1% increase in the previous month. Excluding autos, retail and food services sales were up 0.1%.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for April were up 0.7%, while inventories were up 0.6%.
- The federal government budget ran a deficit of $130.0 billion in May, after a deficit of $106.9 billion in the previous month.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 4 thousand to 317 thousand in the week ending June 7.
- The producer price index for final demand (headline index) decreased 0.2% in May, following an increase of 0.6% in April. The core index decreased 0.1%, following a 0.5% increase in the previous month. Both the headline and the core index increased 2.0% from May 2013.
- The import price index rose 0.1% in May, following a 0.4% decrease in the previous month. The export price index increased 0.1%, following a 1.0% decrease in the previous month. The import price index increased 0.4% from May 2013, while export prices increased 0.5%.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of June 12th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving higher. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 4.20% for the week ending June 12, up from the previous week when it averaged 4.14%.
- Mortgage applications increased 10.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending June 11th.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary, edged down to 81.2 in early June.
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June 9th, 2014
- Total non-farm payroll employment increased 217 thousand in May, following an increase of 282 thousand in the previous month. Private-sector payrolls increased by 216 thousand in the month, while government employment edged up a thousand.
- The unemployment rate held steady at 6.3%.
- The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held steady at 34.5 hours. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% in May.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 8 thousand to 312 thousand in the week ending May 31.
- Sales of domestic cars increased 3.9% to 13.3 million in May, while total vehicle sales increased 4.4% to 16.8 million.
- New orders for manufactured goods increased 0.7% in April, following a 1.5% increase in the previous month.
- In April, international trade deficit was $47.2 billion, $3.0 billion more than the revised March figure.
- Construction spending in April was up 0.2% from the previous month, and was up 8.6% from April 2013.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of June 5th showed average fixed mortgage rates little changed from the previous week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 3.1% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 30th.
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June 2nd, 2014
- Real GDP decreased at an annual rate of 1.0% in the first quarter, after increasing 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2013.
- The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.3% in the first quarter, compared to an increase of 1.6% in the previous quarter.
- Corporate profits decreased to $1,880 billion in the first quarter, from $1,905 billion in the previous quarter.
- Personal income increased 0.3%, in April, while personal consumption expenditures decreased 0.1%.
- The price index for personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2% in April, the same increase as in the previous month. The core index also increased 0.2%. The price index (headline index) was up 1.6% from April 2013, while the core index was up 1.4%
- New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0.8% in April, following a 3.6% increase in the previous month.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 27 thousand to 300 thousand in the week ending May 24.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 29th showed average fixed mortgage rates decreasing for the fifth consecutive week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 1.2% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 23rd.
- The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index increased slightly in May.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment slipped in May.
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May 26th, 2014
- April existing home sales increased 1.3% to an annualized rate of 4,650 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $201.7 thousand, 5.2% above April 2013.
- April new home sales increased 6.4% to an annualized rate of 433 thousand units. The median sales price of new houses sold was 1.3% below April 2013.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 22nd showed average fixed mortgage rates moving lower for the fourth consecutive week.
- Mortgage applications increased 0.9% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 16th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 28 thousand to 326 thousand in the week ending May 17.
- The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.4% in April, while the coincident index increased 0.1%.
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May 19th, 2014
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales increased 0.1% in April, following a 1.5% increase in the previous month. Excluding autos, retail and food services sales held steady in April.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for March were up 0.8%, while inventories were up 0.4%.
- Total Industrial production decreased 0.6% in April, following a 0.9% increase in the previous month. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 78.6%, down from 79.3% in March.
- Housing starts in April were up 13.2% from the previous month, and were up 26.4% from a year ago.
- The housing market index of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo decreased a point to 45 in May.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 15th showed average fixed mortgage rates easing for the third consecutive week and remain at a six month low.
- Mortgage applications increased 3.6% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 9th.
- The federal government budget ran a surplus of $106.9 billion in April, after a deficit of $36.9 billion in the previous month.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 24 thousand to 297 thousand in the week ending May 10.
- The consumer price index (headline index) rose 0.3% in April, while the core index increased 0.2%. The consumer price index increased 2.0% for the 12-month period ending in April, while the core index rose 1.0%.
- The producer price index for final demand (headline index) increased 0.6% in April, while the core index increased 0.5%. The producer price index for final demand increased 2.1% from April 2013, while the core index increased 1.9%
- The import price index decreased 0.4% in April, while the export price index decreased 1.0%.The import price index decreased 0.3% from April 2013, while export prices increased 0.1%.
- The May 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity surged for New York manufacturers.
- The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey for May reported strong growth in manufacturing activity.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary, decreased to 81.8 in early May, from 84.1 in April.
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May 12th, 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.
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May 5th, 2014
- Total non-farm payroll employment increased 288 thousand in April, following an increase of 203 thousand in the previous month. Private-sector payrolls increased by 273 thousand in the month, while government employment increased by 15 thousand.
- The unemployment rate decreased to 6.3% in April, from 6.7% in March.
- The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held steady at 34.5 hours. Average hourly earnings held steady, following a 0.4% increase in February.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 14 thousand to 344 thousand in the week ending April 26th.
- Employment cost index rose 0.3% in the first quarter, after a 0.5% increase in the final quarter of 2013.
- Real GDP rose 0.1% in the first quarter, following a 2.6% increase in the previous quarter. The price index for domestic purchases increased 1.3%, following a 1.6% increase in the fourth quarter of 2013.
- Personal income rose 0.5% in March, while personal consumption expenditures rose 0.9%. The price index for personal consumption expenditures were up 0.2% from the previous month, and were up 1.1% from March 2013.
- Sales of domestic vehicles decreased to 12.8 million in April, while total vehicle sales decreased to 16.0 million.
- New orders for manufactured goods increased 1.1% in March, following an increase of 1.5% in the previous month.
- Construction spending rose 0.2% in March, following a 0.2% decrease in February.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 91st showed average fixed mortgage rates moving down slightly.
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April 28th, 2014
- March existing home sales decreased 0.2% to an annualized rate of 4,590 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $198.0 thousand, 5.4% above a year ago.
- March new home sales decreased 14.5% to an annualized rate of 384 thousand units. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $290.0 thousand, 12.6% above a year ago.
- U.S. House prices increased 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to February, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices rose 6.9%.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of April 24th showed average fixed mortgage rates increasing for the week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 3.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending April 18th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 24 thousand to 329 thousand in the week ending April 19.
- The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.8% in March, while the coincident index increased 0.2%.
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April 20th, 2014
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales increased 1.1% in March, following a 0.7% increase in the previous month. Excluding autos, retail and food services sales were up 0.7% in March.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for February were up 0.8%, while inventories were up 0.4%.
- Total Industrial production increased 0.7% in March. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 79.2%.
- Housing starts in March were up 2.8% from the previous month, but were down 5.9% from a year ago.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of April 17th showed average fixed mortgage rates easing further for the second consecutive week.
- Mortgage applications increased 4.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending April 11th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 2 thousand to 304 thousand in the week ending April 12.
- The consumer price index (headline index) rose 0.2% in March, following a 0.1% in the previous month. The consumer price index increased 1.5% for the 12-month period ending in March, while the core index rose 1.6%.
- The March 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity was virtually flat.
- The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey for March reported growth in manufacturing activity.
- The FED’s “Beige Book” indicated that overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest or moderate pace.
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