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DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer decreased slightly by 0.1%
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For the week ending September 21st 2013, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer decreased slightly by 0.1 percent following a 0.3 decline in the prior week. Production and consumption indexes both weakened again this week. Chain store sales decreased by 1.0 percent following a decline in the previous week while MBA’s purchase index rose largely by 6.6 percent. As to production indexes, electric output dropped significantly by 6.4 percent, offsetting positive contributions from other indexes.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed a gain of 0.7 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 rate of increase for the 2012 slightly slowed to 1.4 percent following 2.2 percent in 2011.
The smoothed version of the barometer, which attempts to account for weekly volatility, was flat reading for three consecutive weeks. Its year-over-year growth rate was 0.6 percent.
Posted: October 3, 2013 Thursday 10:00 AM