- 48.8 in June vs. 53.8 in May; 3.3 pts. below the 12-month average of 52.1.
- Business Activity (49.6, the first contraction since May ’20), New Orders (47.3, the first contraction since Dec. ’22), Employment (46.1, the fifth straight contraction), and Supplier Deliveries (52.2, above 50 for the second successive month).
- Prices Index falls to a three-month-low 56.3, albeit remaining above 50 since June ’17.
USA| Jul 03 2024U.S. Factory Orders Decline in May After Three Consecutive Gains; Shipments Fall, but Backlogs & Inventories Rise
- Durable goods orders edge higher, but nondurable goods orders decline.
- Total unfilled orders rise but excluding transportation fall.
- Inventories rise slightly.
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
USA| Jul 03 2024U.S. Trade Deficit Widened Further in May
- Total monthly deficit widened to $75.1 bn from $74.5 bn in April.
- Both exports and imports declined slightly in May.
- Goods deficit widened to the largest since May 2022; services surplus widened to the largest since November 2019.
- Trade deficit on course to be another drag on GDP growth in Q2.
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
USA| Jul 03 2024U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise Just 4,000 in June 29 Week
- Initial claims hover in tight range over last month.
- Continuing claims up moderately in June 22 week.
- Insured unemployment rate still at 1.2%.
USA| Jul 03 2024PMI Composites Worse on Balance in June
In June, the S&P PMI composites improved in 6 of 25 countries and regional jurisdictions reporting in the table. Fifteen improved month-to-month in May and eleven improved month-to-month in April.
Over three months, 14 jurisdictions improved compared to their six-month averages. Over six months, 18 improved compared to their 12-month averages. Over 12 months, 14 improved compared to their average readings of 12-months ago.
The sequential averages show a significant trend toward improvement. However, monthly comparisons are not as upbeat.
In June, there was a relatively sharp increase in the number of jurisdictions with PMI values showing decline (PMI<50) as the raw count increased to 8 out of 25 from four in each of the two preceding months. The period averages have been showing fewer output declines with the number dropping from 9 over 12 months to 6 over six months and to 5 over three months. PMI readings below 50 had been becoming scarcer.
Average and median PMI reading had been improving with higher diffusion reported over six months compared to 12 months and another improvement over three months for the average but a step back for the median. Monthly there is no trend for the change, but the June readings are weaker than the April readings.
Queue percentile standings classify standings against all past readings expressed as a percentile positioning on data back to 2020. The average queue standing is in its 43.7 percentile while the median standing is at its 42.9 percentile. Only India and Egypt have queue percentile standings in their 80th and 90th percentile ranges. Spain manages a reading in its 70th percentile, Brazil comes close at a 69-percentile standing. But only eight of 25 percentile standings are above the 50% mark, which means above their historic median readings.
USA| Jul 02 2024U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rebound in May
- Openings fail to recover April loss and remain well below 2022 high.
- Hiring remains sharply lower y/y.
- Job separations hold steady but quits rise
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
USA| Jul 02 2024U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Fall Sharply in June
- Both light truck and passenger car sales decline.
- Imports' market share improves.
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Gasoline prices rise to highest level in four weeks.
- Crude oil prices steady.
- Natural gas costs rebound.
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
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