Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer increased 0.1%
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For the week ending November 12, 2011, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer increased by +0.1 percent, following a gain of +0.4 percent in the prior week. On the consumption side, inflation-adjusted chain store sales extended their gains to three consecutive weeks, but their growth pace slowed to +0.2 percent. Mortgage applications lost their steam in the latest week as well. On the production side, steel and truck production helped lift the business barometer in the week ending November 12, 2011.
On a year-over-year basis, the growth of the barometer slowed slightly to +1.6 percent, which compares to an average -3.3 percent decline over the Great Recession (determined to have 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%), but not so impressive when you compare it to an -8.0 percent drop in 2009.
The smoothed version of the barometer, which attempts to account for weekly volatility, was up slightly by +0.1 percent in the week ending November 12th, but was revised up to a +0.2 percent increase in the prior week (originally reported as +0.1 percent), while its year-over-year growth rate increased by +1.5 percent.
Posted: November 23, 2011 Wednesday 10:00 AM