U.S. Economic News
August 6, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (“JOLTS”), a closely-watched measure of labor market health, indicated there were 7.3 million job openings at the end of June, essentially unchanged from May. Hires were little changed at 5.7 million, while the quits rate remained at 2.3 percent. BLS Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Treasury officially labeled China a currency manipulator after China’s central bank allowed the renminbi to weaken below seven yuan to the dollar for the first time since 2008. China has emphasized that the depreciation is due to market forces rather than intentional devaluation but is unlikely to allow the currency to decline further as it would increase capital outflows and make it harder for Chinese companies to service their dollar-denominated debt. WSJ
According to Bloomberg, a new study published by the Congressional Budget Office found that consumer price expectations were a better predictor of the overall direction of future inflation than economists’ forecasts over the past twenty years. Although experts predicted the pace of inflation more accurately, consumers better predicted the direction of inflation and future consumer sentiment. Bloomberg