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DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer bounced back by 0.2%
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For the week ending July 26 2014, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer bounced back by 0.2 percent to 98.7, after declining for two consecutive weeks. The recovery in this week’s barometer is largely driven by production indexes, in which truck production and electric output picked up by 11.5 and 6.3 percent, respectively, more than offsetting the 8.1 percent drop in auto production. As to the consumption side, chain store sales and MBA’s purchase index reported minor gains.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed a gain of 1.2 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, remained at 98.7 for two weeks in a row. Its year-over-year growth rate was 1.1 percent.
Posted: August 7, 2014 Thursday 10:00 AM