Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by 0.1%
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For the week ending June 15, 2013, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by 0.1 percent for the second consecutive week. Some production indexes advanced while consumption indexes decreased as well as last week. Chain Store Sales picked up by 0.3 percent following the loss in the prior week. Meanwhile, Railroad Freight Carloadings dropped by 1.0 percent. In production indexes, Steel Production and Electric Output rose by 0.8 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively, both picked up from the three consecutive declines while Lumber Production decreased by 3.0 percent.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer showed an increase of 0.9 percent for the tenth 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, continued to decrease by 0.1 percent. Its year-over-year growth rate was 0.8 percent.
Posted: June 27, 2013 Thursday 10:00 AM