Bernanke Cautious Remarks, Inflation Risks
Jul 15, 9:26 AM EDT |
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| The decline in the foreign exchange value of the dollar has also contributed somewhat to the increase in oil prices. |
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| Inflation has remained high, running at nearly a 3.5% annual rate over the first five months of this year as measured by the price index for personal consumption expenditures. And, with gasoline and other consumer energy prices rising in recent weeks, inflation seems likely to move temporarily higher in the near term. |
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Consumer Price Index Increases 1.1% in June
Jul 16, 9:02 AM EDT |
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| The food index rose 0.8% in June after rising 0.3% in May. |
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| The CPI-U advanced 1.1% in June, following a 0.6% increase in May. The index for energy rose sharply for the second straight month, increasing 6.6% in June following a 4.4% increase in May. |
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Business Inventories Rise 0.3% in May
Jul 15, 10:44 AM EDT |
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| The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of May was 1.24. The May 2007 ratio was 1.26. |
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| Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,479.3 billion, up 0.3% from April 2008 and up 5.2% from May 2007. |
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Retail Sales Increase 0.1% in June
Jul 15, 9:19 AM EDT |
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| Total sales for the April through June 2008 period were up 2.6% from the same period a year ago. |
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| The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for June, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $384.2 billion, an increase of 0.1% from the previous month and 3% above June 2007. The April to May 2008 percent change was revised from +1% to +0.8%. |
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Producer Price Index Rises 1.8% in June
Jul 15, 9:06 AM EDT |
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| The index for energy goods climbed 6% in June after rising 4.9% in May. |
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| The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 1.8% in June, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed advances of 1.4% in May and 0.2% in April. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods rose 2.1% in June after moving up 2.9% in the prior month, and the crude goods index increased 3.7% following a 6.7% gain in May. |
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Trade Deficit Narrows in May
Jul 11, 9:26 AM EDT |
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| May imports were $0.7 billion more than April imports of $216.7 billion. |
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| The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that total May exports of $157.5 billion and imports of $217.3 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $59.8 billion, down from $60.5 billion in April, revised. May exports were $1.4 billion more than April exports of $156.2 billion. |
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Import and Export Prices Rise in June
Jul 11, 9:15 AM EDT |
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| The U.S. Import Price Index rose 2.6% in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The increase followed a 2.6% advance in May and was led by a continuing rise in petroleum prices. The price index for exports increased 1% in June after rising 0.4% in May. |
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Jobless Claims Drop by 58,000
Jul 10, 8:51 AM EDT |
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| The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1% during the week ending June 28, unchanged from the prior week. |
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| In the week ending July 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 346,000, a decrease of 58,000 from the previous week''''s unrevised figure of 404,000. The 4-week moving average was 380,500, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week''''s unrevised average of 390,500. |
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Crude Oil Inventories Decline
Jul 09, 12:37 PM EDT |
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| Distillate fuel inventories increased by 1.8 million barrels, and are in the middle of the average range for this time of year. |
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| U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 5.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 293.9 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are below the lower boundary of the average range for this time of year. Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 0.9 million barrels last week, and are in the middle of the average range. Finished gasoline inventories were unchanged last week while gasoline blending components inventories increased during this same time. |
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Wholesale Trade Rises 1.6% in May
Jul 08, 10:22 AM EDT |
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| May sales of durable goods were down 0.2% from last month, but were up 7.6% from a year ago. |
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| The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that May 2008 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $397.4 billion, up 1.6% from the revised April level and were up 13.7% from the May 2007 level. |
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