Housing Starts
September 18, 2019 Housing starts jumped 12.3% in August to 1,364 thousand after having declined 1.5%in July and 2.5% in June. Because these data are particularly volatile on a month-to-month basis, it is best to look at a 3-month moving average of starts (which...
Gasoline Prices
September 18, 2019 Gasoline prices at the retail level were unchanged in the week ending September 16 at $2,55 per gallon. In South Carolina gasoline prices tend to about $0.25 below the national average or about $2.30. The Department of Energy expects national...
Homebuilder Confidence
September 17, 2019 .Homebuilder confidence rose 1 point in September to 68 after having risen 2 points in August. While its current level is somewhat below the readings of 70-75 at this time last year, a level of 68 is indicative of a solid level of confidence...
Industrial Production
September 17, 2019 Industrial production jumped 0.6% in August after having declined 0.1% in July after having risen 0.1% in June. During the past year industrial production has risen 0.4%, but one year ago it was climbing at a 5.3% pace. Breaking industrial...
Solving the Wrong Problem
September 13, 2019 The European Central Bank provided a surprise dose of monetary stimulus this past week. Not only did it cut interest rates, it announced a new bond-buying program designed to get the economy going. However, policy makers in Europe and the U.S....
GDP, Inflation, and Interest Rate Forecasts
September 13, 2019 The preliminary estimate of second quarter GDP growth came in at 2.1% after having risen 3.1% in the first quarter. For the year as a whole we anticipate 2.5.% GDP growth after having risen 2.5% in 2018. . Consumer spending jumped 4.3% in the...
Consumer Sentiment
September 13, 2019 The final estimate of consumer sentiment for September rose by a modest 2.2 points in September to 92.0 after having fallen 8.6 points in August . Despite the drop the levels for consumer sentiment in August and September are still quite...
Retail Sales
September 13, 2019 Retail sales 0.4% in August. But that follows gains of 0.4% in April, 0.5% in May, 0.4% in June, and 0.8% in July.. Any way you slice it, consumer spending remains solid. During the past year retail sales have risen 4.0%, but in the past...
Consumer Price Index
September 12, 2019 The CPI rose 0.1% in August after having risen 0.3% in July.. During the past year the CPI has risen 1.8%. Food prices were unchanged in August and rose 0.1% in both June and July. Food prices have risen 1.7% in the past twelve months. These...
Producer Price Index
September 11, 2019 The Producer Price Index for final demand - intermediate demand includes producer prices for goods, as well as prices for construction, services, government purchases, and exports and covers over 75% of domestic production. Producer prices for...
Follow Me