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May’s consumer and producer prices and existing home sales; April’s trade deficit and wholesale inventories

Major reports released last week included the May Consumer Price Index and the May Producer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Commerce Dept’s report on our International Trade in Goods and Services for April , the Wholesale Trade, Sales and Inventories report for April from the Census Bureau, and the May report on existing home sales from the National Association of Realtors (NAR)… CPI Rose 0.5% in May on Higher Prices for Fuel and Shelter The consumer price index was 0.5% higher in May, as higher prices for fuel, rent, lodging away from home, electricity, clothing, airline fares, vehicle maintenance and repairs, internet and telephone service, postage and delivery services, hospital services, dentist’s services, appliances, tax preparation, and admissions to sporting events were only partly offset by lower prices for utility gas, new cars and trucks, car and truck rentals, vehicle insurance, tires, furniture, outdoor equipment, floor coverings, prescription and ...
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May’s jobs report, construction spending, factory inventories and JOLTS

Last week’s major economic releases included both of the major monthly employment reports: the Employment Situation Summary for May and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for April, both from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in addition to the April report on Construction Spending (pdf), and the Full Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders for April , with both of those from the Census Bureau.…in addition, late on Friday the Fed released the Consumer Credit Report for April , which showed that overall consumer credit, a measure of non-real estate personal debt, expanded by a seasonally adjusted $20.7 billion, or at a 4.8% annual rate, as non-revolving credit expanded at a 2.9% rate to $3,804.4 billion while revolving credit outstanding grew at a 10.4% rate to $1,348.7 billion…… Privately issued reports released last week included the ADP Employment Report for May , wherein the national payroll processor reported a 122,000 increase in private jobs in...
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2nd estimate of 1st Quarter GDP; April’s income and outlays, durable goods, & new home sales

The key economic reports released last week were the second estimate of 1st quarter GDP and the April report on Personal Income and Spending , both from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the April advance report on durable goods and the April report on new home sales , both from the Census bureau….This week also saw the release of the widely watched March Case-Shiller Home Price Index from S&P Case-Shiller , an index which is computed from the relative average of January, February & March home sales prices as compared to home sales prices of the same homes when they sold during previous 3 month periods; the Case Shiller index indicated that home prices nationally for those 3 months averaged 0.7% higher than prices for the same homes that sold during the same 3 month period a year earlier, down from the 0.8% year over year increase they reported for their February national index, covering home prices for December, January and February… In addition, the last two regional Fed...
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April’s new residential construction, et al

Agency issued economic reports released this week included the April report on New Residential Construction from the Census Bureau and the Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary for April from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a report which breaks down the two employment surveys from the monthly national jobs report by state and region….while the text of that report provides a useful summary of this data, the serious statistical aggregation can be found in the tables linked at the end of the report, where one can find the civilian labor force data and the change in payrolls by industry for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands… This week also saw two more regional Fed manufacturing surveys for May:… the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey , covering most of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware, reported their broadest diffusion index of manufacturing conditions fell to –0.4 in May, down from +26.7 in April, wh...
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