Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by 0.2%
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For the week ending November 29 2014, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by 0.2 percent to 98.8 after three weeks of positive growth. This week’s barometer was driven by both consumption and production indexes. Chain store sales fell by 1.8 percent, mainly owing to weak performance in department and non-apparel speciality stores business. As to the production side, electric output dropped by 11.2 percent, although it was partially offset by gains in auto and truck production, which climbed by 22.7 and 3.5 percent, respectively.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed a gain of 1.1 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, increased by 0.1 percent to 98.8. Its year-over-year growth rate was 0.9 percent.
Posted: December 11, 2014 Thursday 10:00 AM