Gross Domestic Purchases Deflator

December 19, 2024 There are many different deflators that are available.  This one is for gross domestic purchases which measures prices paid by U.S. residents.  It is the one measure of inflation that the Commerce Department talks about when it releases the GDP...

Initial Unemployment Claims

December 19, 2024 Initial unemployment claims rose 17 thousand in the week ending December 7 to 242 thousand after climbing 10 thousand in the previous week.   This series has risen slightly in the past six months.  The 4-week average of claims was 210 thousand at the...

Housing Starts

December 18, 2024 Housing starts declined 1.8% in November to 1,289 thousand which was a surprisingly weak performance after falling 3.2% in October and 1.7% in September.  The decline consisted of a 6.4% increase in single-family homes which was more than offset by a...

Homebuilder Confidence

December 17, 2024 This series was unchanged in December at 46 after  having risen 3 points in November and 2 points in both September and October.  The recent gains seem to reflect hope that the Trump administration will cut a lot of the red tape that has been...

Industrial Production

December 17,, 2024 Industrial production declined 0.1% in November after falling 0.4% in October and 0.5% in September.  The Fed reported that The Boeing strike reduced production by 0.3% in September and 0.2% in October.  Despite the end of the Boeing strike in...

Retail Sales

December 17, 2024 Retail sales rose 0.7% in November after gaining 0.5% in October and 0.9%% in September.  In the past year retail sales have risen 3.4%. Motor vehicle sales jumped  2.6% in November after climbing 1.8% in October after having risen 0.6% in...