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DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer was Flat%
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For the week ending April 13, 2013, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer was flat following an increase of 0.1 percent in the prior week. Chain Store Sales’ drop, which declined by 1.1 percent for the first time in three weeks, offset the gains of MBA’s Purchase Index. In the production indexes, there were no significant rise and fall other than Coal Bituminous and Lignite Production and Auto Production, which increased by 4.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Other indexes advanced or receded only slightly.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed an increase of 0.8 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, increased by 0.1 percent following 0.2 percent increases for three consecutive weeks. Its year-over-year growth rate was 0.7 percent.
Posted: April 25, 2013 Thursday 10:00 AM