Fed Lowers Rate to 2.25%
Mar 18, 2:53 PM EDT |
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| The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 75 basis points to 2.25%. |
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| Inflation has been elevated, and some indicators of inflation expectations have risen. The Committee expects inflation to moderate in coming quarters, reflecting a projected leveling-out of energy and other commodity prices and an easing of pressures on resource utilization. Still, uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased. It will be necessary to continue to monitor inflation developments carefully. |
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Producer Price Index Rises 0.3% in February
Mar 18, 9:53 AM EDT |
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| Within finished goods, the index for energy goods increased 0.8% in February compared with a 1.5% gain in the previous month. |
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| The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.3% in February, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 1% advance in January and a 0.3% decline in December. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 0.8% in February subsequent to a 1.4% advance in January, and the crude goods index rose 3.7% after climbing 2.5% in the prior month. |
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Housing Starts Drop by 0.6% in February
Mar 18, 9:37 AM EDT |
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| The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 331,000. |
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| Privately-owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,065,000. This is 0.6% below the revised January estimate of 1,071,000 and is 28.4% below the revised February 2007 rate of 1,487,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 707,000; this is 6.7% below the January figure of 758,000. |
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Fed Cuts Discount Rate to 3.25%
Mar 17, 11:35 AM EDT |
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| The Federal Reserve cut the discount lending rate charged to banks from 3.5% to 3.25% in an attempt to assist banks in surviving the credit crisis. |
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| The Federal Reserve Board unanimously approved a request by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to decrease the primary credit rate from 3.5% to 3.25%, effective immediately. The Federal Reserve announced two initiatives designed to bolster market liquidity and promote orderly market functioning. Liquid, well-functioning markets are essential for the promotion of economic growth. |
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Industrial Production Drops 0.5% in February
Mar 17, 10:48 AM EDT |
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| The capacity utilization rate for total industry in February fell 0.6 percentage point, to 80.9%, the lowest rate since November 2005. |
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| Industrial production fell 0.5% in February after having increased 0.% in January. Much of the decrease in February resulted from a weather-related drop of 3.7% in the output of utilities. In the manufacturing sector, output decreased 0.2% in February, and declines were fairly widespread across industries. The output of mines moved up 0.4%. At 113.7% of its 2002 average, total industrial production was 1% above its year-earlier level. |
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U.S. Current Deficit Narrows
Mar 17, 10:35 AM EDT |
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| Net foreign acquisition of long-term securities, taking into account adjustments, is estimated to have been $47.2 billion. |
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| Net foreign purchases of long-term U.S. securities were $81.2 billion. Of this, net purchases by foreign official institutions were $53.4 billion, and net purchases by private foreign investors were $27.8 billion. |
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Consumer Price Index Gains 0.3% in February
Mar 14, 9:31 AM EDT |
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| The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers increased 0.2 % in February prior to seasonal adjustment. |
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| The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.3% in February before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The February level of 211.693 was 4% higher than in February 2007. |
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Business Inventories Rise 0.8% in January
Mar 13, 11:24 AM EDT |
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| The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of January was 1.25. |
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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 $1,457.9 billion, up 0.8% from December 2007 and up 4.8% from January 2007. |
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Retail Sales Fall 0.6% in February
Mar 13, 10:11 AM EDT |
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| Retail trade sales were down 0.6% from January 2008, but were 2.4% above last year. |
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| The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $380.2 billion, a decrease of 0.6% from the previous month, but 2.6% above February 2007. |
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Import and Export Prices Advance in February
Mar 13, 10:05 AM EDT |
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| Prices for U.S. exports rose 0.9% in February after increasing 1.2% the previous month. |
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| The U.S. Import Price Index advanced 0.2% in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today, as a 0.6% increase in nonpetroleum prices more than offset a 1.5% downturn in petroleum prices. |
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