Succinct Summations for the week ending May 13th 2016
Positives:
1. Retail sales rose 1.3%, with auto sales rising 3.2%. This was well ahead of the 0.9% expected rise.
2. Consumer sentiment rose to 95.8, up from 89 previously and above the 89.7 expected.
3. Job openings rose to 5.757m in March, up from 5.445m previously.
4. Import prices and export prices rose 0.3% and 0.5% respectively, m/o/m.
5. The small business optimism index rose to 93.6, up from 92.6 previously.
Negatives
1. U.S. Stocks fell for a third straight week.
2. Jobless claims rose to 294k, the highest reading since February.
3. Bloomberg’s consumer comfort index fell to 41.7, down from 42 previously.
4. Producer prices rose just 0.2% m/o/m.
5. Business inventories rose 0.4% m/o/m, ahead of the 0.2% expected rise.
