U.S. Economic News
May 9, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The headline Producer Price Index (“PPI”) for final demand rose 0.1% in April and is up 2.6% since April of last year. The core — which removes the volatile prices of food, energy, and trade services — also edged up 0.1% and is up 2.5% on the year. BLS Report
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that wholesale merchant inventories rose 0.3% in March to $627.4 billion. Inventories were up 5.5% year-over-year. Census Report
U.S. News
Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal writes that rising interest rates in the U.S. are becoming a threat to many emerging market economies. Ip points to the fact that many emerging markets have dollar-denominated debt and imports, both of which become more expensive as the Fed raises interest domestic interest rates. WSJ