Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer increased 0.3%
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For the week ending November 26, 2011, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer rose +0.3 percent, after declining -0.2 percent in the prior week. Inflation-adjusted chain store sales jumped +1.8% thanks to the Black Friday, and lifted the barometer index by +0.3 percent. On the production side, auto and truck production increased, while electric output was down amid unseasonably warm weather.
On a year-over-year basis, the growth of the barometer slowed to +1.2 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 +0.1 percent in the week ending November 26th, but was revised slightly downward to 0.0 percent for the prior week (originally reported as +0.1 percent), while its year-over-year growth rate increased by +1.4 percent.
Posted: December 8, 2011 Thursday 10:00 AM