U.S. Economic News
November 2, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
New factory orders for manufactured goods rose 0.7% in September following a 2.6% (revised) increase in August, and are up 8.4% year to date. New orders excluding transportation rose 0.4% while new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 0.1%. Census Bureau Report
The U.S. trade deficit increased from $53.3 billion in August (revised) to $54.0 billion in September. The goods deficit rose $0.6 billion while the services surplus decreased $0.1 billion. Census Bureau Report
The U.S. economy added 250,000 jobs in October, well above consensus. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, the labor force participation rate rose to 62.9%, and average hourly earnings accelerated to 3.1% Y/Y. BLS Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that investment banks raised their oil price forecasts last month. Several banks expect further output losses totaling 1 million barrels per day from Iran as U.S. sanctions take effect next week, though it remains to be seen whether other OPEC members can cover some of the lost supply. WSJ