Research >> Economics
BTMU U.S. Business Barometer picked up slightly by 0.1%
|
For the week ending November 14 2015, the BTMU U.S. Business Barometer picked up slightly by 0.1 percent to 97.6. This week’s timid recovery was largely explained by gains in some consumption indexes. MBA’s purchase index, for instance, climbed by 11.9 percent, after growing by only 0.1 percent in the previous week. Likewise, railroad freight car loadings
increased by 0.5 percent, following a loss of 1.3 percent a week earlier. Notwithstanding, those gains were somewhat offset by weak performances in some production indexes. For example, lumber and steel production dropped by 2.4 and 1.0 percent, respectively.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed a loss of 1.0 percent, which compares to an average -3.3 percent decline over the Great Recession (ended in June 2009 according to the NBER). After flat lining in 2006, and declining from 2007 through 2009, the barometer bounced back in 2010 to rise by 3.4 percent, which was the strongest increase since 1994 (+4.0 percent), but not so impressive when compared to an -8.0 percent drop in 2009. The rate of increase for the 2013 slowed to 0.7 percent following 1.5 percent in 2012.
The smoothed version of the barometer, which attempts to account for weekly volatility, remained at 97.6. Its year-over-year growth rate was -1.0 percent.
Posted: November 25, 2015 Wednesday 10:00 AM