U.S. Economic News
June 4, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
New factory orders for manufactured goods decreased 0.8% in April following a 1.3% increase in March and are up 1.6% compared to a year ago. New orders excluding transportation rose 0.3% while new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 1.0%. Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced that the central bank is closely monitoring escalating trade tensions and may cut rates if the economic outlook deteriorates. Additionally, with inflation holding below the Fed’s 2% target for the past several months, officials are concerned that persistently low inflation will pull down consumers’ expectations of future inflation and have a negative effect on actual future prices. WSJ
According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump has announced that he expects U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods to go into effect next week as scheduled despite ongoing negotiations to resolve the immigration dispute. The proposed tariffs would affect all Mexican exports to the U.S., starting at 5% on June 10 and rising each month to 25% by October. WSJ