April Housing Starts Surge 8.2%
May 16, 9:29 AM EDT |
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| Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 978,000. |
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| Housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.032 million, up 8.2% from the revised March estimate of 0.95 million, but is 30.6% below the revised April 2007 rate of 1.5 million. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 692,000, down 1.7% from the March 704,000 units. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 326,000. |
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Industrial Production Drops 0.7% in April
May 15, 10:20 AM EDT |
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| The production of consumer goods decreased 0.8% in April. |
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| Industrial production declined 0.7% in April after having risen 0.2% in March. Manufacturing output fell 0.8% in April. As was the case in March, factory output in April was held down by a large drop in the index for motor vehicles and parts; strikes and strike-related parts shortages resulted in suspended production at many facilities. |
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Jobless Claims Rise 6,000
May 15, 8:48 AM EDT |
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| The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3% for the week ending May 3, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.3%. |
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| In the week ending May 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 371,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week''''s unrevised figure of 365,000. The 4-week moving average was 365,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week''''s revised average of 366,750. |
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Gasoline Inventories Decline
May 14, 10:50 AM EDT |
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| Distillate fuel inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels and are in the lower half of the average range for this time of year. |
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| U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 200 thousand barrels from the previous week. At 325.8 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are in the middle of the average range for this time of year. Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.7 million barrels last week, and are in the middle of the average range. Finished gasoline inventories fell last week while gasoline blending components inventories increased during this same time. |
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Consumer Price Index Advances 0.2% in April
May 14, 8:54 AM EDT |
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| The index for food at home increased 1.5%, reflecting substantial increases in all six major grocery store food groups. |
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| On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U advanced 0.2% in April, following a 0.3% increase in March. The index for energy was virtually unchanged after advancing 1.9% in March. In April, the index for petroleum-based energy fell 1.6%, offsetting a 2.5% increase in the index for energy services. The food index rose 0.9% in April. |
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Business Inventories Increase 0.1% in March
May 13, 10:15 AM EDT |
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| The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of March was 1.27. |
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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 $1,465.1 billion, up 0.1% from February 2008 and up 5.2% from March 2007. |
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Import and Export Prices Advance in April
May 13, 9:20 AM EDT |
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| Export prices also increased in April, rising 0.3% after advancing at least 1% in each of the previous three months. |
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| The U.S. Import Price Index increased 1.8% in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the second consecutive month, higher prices for both petroleum and nonpetroleum imports contributed to the advance. The rise followed a 2.9% increase in March. |
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Retail Sales Drop 0.2% in April
May 13, 8:57 AM EDT |
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| Total sales for the February through April 2008 period were up 2.2% 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 April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $378.1 billion, a decrease of 0.2% from the previous month and 2% above April 2007. |
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Trade Deficit Narrows in March
May 09, 10:21 AM EDT |
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| March imports were $6.1 billion less than February imports of $212.8 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 March exports of $148.5 billion and imports of $206.7 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $58.2 billion, down from $61.7 billion in February, revised. March exports were $2.6 billion less than February exports of $151.1 billion. |
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Wholesale Trade Rises 1.6% in March
May 08, 10:35 AM EDT |
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| Sales of nondurable goods were up 1% from last month and were up 20.1% from last year. |
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| The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that March 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 $384.3 billion, up 1.6% from the revised February level and were up 12.6% from the March 2007 level. |
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