U.S. Economic News
July 11, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The headline Producer Price Index (“PPI”) for final demand rose 0.3% in June and is up 3.4% since June of last year. The core — which removes the volatile prices of food, energy, and trade services — edged up 0.3% and is up 2.7% on the year. BLS Report
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that wholesale merchant inventories rose 0.6% in May to $633.5 billion. Inventories were up 5.9% year-over-year. Census Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. unveiled tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports, targeting products ranging from fish to luggage. Though China will likely retaliate against this latest round of tariffs, China imports less than $200 billion from the U.S., making a tit-for-tat retaliation difficult. WSJ
According to the Wall Street Journal, stronger economic momentum has convinced some Federal Reserve officials to get on board with a faster rate hike schedule. Though some Fed officials previously advocated for a slower pace of rate hikes to avoid stifling growth, building inflationary pressures have pushed officials to consider compressing the rate hike schedule in order to prevent the economy from overheating. WSJ