· Advance estimates of retail and food services sales for May were down 0.3% from the previous month, but were up 3.8% from May 2016. Year-to-date, retail sales were up 3.5% from the same period a year ago.
· Total manufacturing and trade sales for April were up less than 0.1%, while inventories were down 0.2%. The total business inventories/sales ratio at the end of April was 1.37, compared with 1.42 in April 2016.
· Total Industrial production held steady% in May, following a 1.1% increase in the previous month. The index of industrial production in May was 2.2% above its year-ago level. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 76.6%, 3.3 percentage points below its 1972-2016 average, but one percentage point above its level in May 2016.
· Housing starts in May were down 5.5% from the previous month, and were down 2.4% from a year ago. Year-to-date, housing starts were up 3.2% from the same period a year ago. Building permits were down 4.9% from the previous month, and were down 0.8% from May 2016. Year-to-date, building permits were up 5.5% from the same period a year ago.
· The housing market index of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo decreased 2 points to 69 in June. The Index was 67 in January of this year and 60 in June of last year.
· The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed average fixed mortgage rates increasing across the board for the first time in over a month. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 3.91% for the week ending June 15, up from last week when it averaged 3.89%. A year ago at this time, 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 3.54%. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 3.18% for the week ending June 15, up from last week when it averaged 3.16%. A year ago at this time, 15-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 2.81%.
· Mortgage applications increased 2.8% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending June 9th.
· The import price index decreased 0.3% in May, following a 0.2% increase in the previous month. The overall import price index increased 2.1% from May 2016. The export price index decreased 0.7% in May, following a 0.2% increase in the previous month. The price index for overall exports increased 1.4% from May 2016.
· The producer price index for final demand was unchanged in May, following an increase of 0.5% in the previous month. The price index for final demand excluding food and energy increased 0.3%, following a 0.4% increase in the previous month. The producer price index for final demand increased 2.4% from May 2016 to May 2017, while the index for final demand excluding food and energy increased 2.1%.
· The consumer price index decreased 0.1% in May, following a 0.2% increase in the previous month. The core index increased 0.1%, the same increase as in the previous month. The consumer price index increased 1.9% for the 12-month period ending in May, while the core index rose 1.7%.
· Real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.3% from April to May. This result stems from a 0.2% increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.1% decrease in the consumer price index for all urban consumers.
· The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 8 thousand to 237 thousand in the week ending June 10. The 4-week moving average was 243 thousand, an increase of a thousand from the previous week’s average. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment (ongoing) during the week ending June 3 was 1,935 thousand, an increase of 6 thousand from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 1,926.75 thousand, an increase of 9 thousand from the previous week’s revised average.
· Unemployment rates were lower in May in 9 states, higher in 3 states, and stable in 38 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Twenty-two states had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier and 28 states and the District had little or no change. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 9 states and the District of Columbia in May 2017, decreased in 4, and was essentially unchanged in 37 states. Over the year, 28 states added nonfarm payroll jobs and 22 states and the District were essentially unchanged.
· The federal government budget ran a deficit of $88.4 billion in May, after a surplus of $182.4 billion in April. In May, receipts increased 7.0% from a year ago, while outlays increased 18.7%. The deficit in May of 2016 was $52.5 billion. The cumulative deficit for the first eight months of fiscal year 2017 was $432.9 billion, $27.4 billion more than the deficit for the same period of the previous fiscal year.
· The Federal Open Market Committee decided to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 0.25% to 1.00% to 1.25%. This was the highest rate since 2008. “The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate; the federal funds rate is likely to remain, for some time, below levels that are expected to prevail in the longer run.”
· The June 2017 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity rebounded strongly for New York manufacturers. The headline general business conditions index surged from negative 1.0 to 19.8, its highest level in more than two years.
· The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey reported that manufacturing activity in the region continued to expand in June. The headline index decreased to 27.6 in June, from 38.8 in May. The index has been positive for eleven consecutive months.
· The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary, decreased to 94.5 in early June, from the final reading of 97.1 in May. The Index was 93.5 in June of 2016. The Current Economic Conditions Index decreased to 109.6 in June, from 111.7 in May, while the Index of Consumer Expectations decreased to 84.7, from 87.7.