Succinct Summations for the week ending July 14th, 2017
Positives:
1. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen sounded dovish in Congressional noting inflation is soft and wages remain below where she was hoping. Bad is good as it means lower for longer;
2. Industrial production rose 0.4% m/o/m, above the 0.3% expected increase. The previous month was revised 0.1% higher.
3. Initial jobless claims remain low, coming in at 277k.
4. UK unemployment fell to 4.5% in May, the lowest reading since 1975.
5. Consumer sentiment remains high, at 93.1.
Negatives:
1. Retail sales fell 0.2% in June, well below the expected 0.1% increase.
2. The small business optimism index fell 0.9 points to 103.6, its lowest reading of the year. Coming off a twelve-year high, this number is still very strong.
3. Producer prices edged only 0.1 percent higher in June. Inflation remains non-existent.
4. CPI also barely budged, rising just 0.1% mo/m and 1.6% y/o/y.
5. MBA purchases applications fell 3% w/o/w.
6. Eurozone industrial production rose 4% m/o/m in May, the most since August 2011.
Thanks, Mike!
