Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer surged by 0.5%
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For the week ending July 6th 2013, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer surged by 0.5 percent, the biggest rate of increase since March 30, following gains of 0.3 percent for two weeks in a row. The rise mainly resulted from increases in production indexes including Lumber Production, which jumped by 10.0 percent, Truck Production and Steel Production. Meanwhile Electric Output declined by 7.7 percent. Chain Store Sales for the week of the Independence Day, which fell on Thursday this year, also made a large contribution rising by 3.0 percent. It maintains an upward trend since the early June. A decrease in Railroad Freight Carloadings was offset by the gain of Chain Store Sales.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed a decrease of 0.2 percent, a first decline since February 23, 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. Its year-over-year growth rate was 0.3 percent.
Posted: July 18, 2013 Thursday 10:00 AM