Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer decreased by 0.3%
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For the week ending May 17 2014, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer decreased by 0.3 percent to 97.8. Most of the decrease in this week’s barometer is owing to consumption indexes, in which chain store sales and MBA’s purchase index fell by -1.3 and -2.8 percent, respectively. As to the production side, auto production dropped sharply by -5.7 percent for two consecutive weeks, although it was entirely offset by an increase in lumber production, electric output and coal production.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed a gain of 0.1 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, decreased by 0.1 percent for two weeks in a row. Its year-over-year growth rate remained at 0.5 percent.
Posted: May 29, 2014 Thursday 10:00 AM