Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer increased 0.4%
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For the week ending November 5, 2011, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer rose +0.4 percent, with solid gains in both the consumer and production sectors. On the consumption side, inflation-adjusted chain store sales increased by +1.0 percent on top of +0.7 percent in the prior week, showing a sign of recovery in consumer spending toward the holiday season. Mortgage activities were stronger as well. On the production side, lumber production advanced and demand for utilities strengthened amid a colder temperature over the week ending November 5, 2011.
On a year-over-year basis, the growth of the barometer accelerated moderately to +1.7 percent, 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 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%), but not so impressive when you compare it to an -8.0 percent drop in 2009.
The smoothed version of the barometer, which attempts to account for weekly volatility, was up slightly by +0.1 percent in the latest week ending November 5th, after six consecutive weeks of flat reading, while its year-over-year growth rate increased by +1.4 percent.
Posted: November 17, 2011 Thursday 10:00 AM