Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer dropped by 0.4%
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For the week ending May 25, 2013, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer dropped by 0.4 percent following a slight pickup of 0.2 percent in the prior week. Consumption indexes dragged the barometer down this week and it reached the lowest since March 23. Railroad Freight Carloadings was down by 1.1 percent, offsetting the increase in the previous week. Chain Store Sales also dropped by 0.9 percent and on overage it was relatively weaker in May than in April. For production indexes, only Steel Production was down, which decreased by 0.8 percent.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed an increase of 0.9 percent for the seventh consecutive week, 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, decrease by 0.1 percent for four weeks in a row. Its year-over-year growth rate was 0.8 percent.
Posted: June 6, 2013 Thursday 10:00 AM