Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer was unch%
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For the week ending July 28, 2012, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer remained the same from the prior week. Steel Production increased marginally this week after being stagnant for three weeks. Auto and Truck Production rose by over +5 percent, respectively. In contrast, Railroad Freight Carloadings decreased for the third consecutive week. In addition, there was a relatively large drop in Chain Store Sales following increases for seven consecutive weeks.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer increased by +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 flatlining 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 barometer increased by +2.2 percent in 2011 at a somewhat slower pace compared to 2010.
The smoothed version of the barometer, which attempts to account for weekly volatility, decreased slightly by -0.1 percent from the previous week, while its year-over-year growth rate increased by +1.5 percent.
Posted: August 9, 2012 Thursday 12:25 PM