U.S. Economic News
January 19, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell 1.5 points to 94.4 in January, and is down 4.1 points on the year. The Index of Consumer Expectations inched up 0.5 point to 84.8, while the Current Economic Conditions Index dropped 4.6 points to 109.2 Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House is considering San Francisco Fed President John Williams for the position of Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair. Williams has led the San Francisco Fed since 2011 and has recently proposed reevaluating the Fed’s 2% inflation target. WSJ
According to the Wall Street Journal, less-educated Americans are seeing faster hourly wage growth than higher-educated Americans as employers in lower-skilled industries search for increasingly scarce workers. Data show that wages for workers with only a high-school diploma rose 2.3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2017, while wages for workers with a college education inched up only 0.8% over the same period, a sign that employers are offering higher wages to attract or retain workers. WSJ
Christopher Alessi of the Wall Street Journal writes that U.S. oil output is set to surpass that of Saudi Arabia this year and move in line with Russia, the world’s leading producer. U.S. oil production is poised to exceed 10 million barrels a day in 2018, the highest level since 1970, in a production boost that has been supported by strengthening crude prices and production cuts by OPEC and its allies. WSJ