U.S. Economic News
December 14, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
Retail sales rose 0.2% in November and were up 4.2% on the year. Core sales — which excludes autos, gasoline, building materials, and food services — increased 0.9%. Census Bureau Report
Business inventories were up 0.6% in October and were up 5.1% from last year. Manufacturers’ sales edged down 0.1% but were up 8.3% on the year. Census Bureau Report
Industrial production rose 0.6% in November (up 3.9% Y/Y), after decreasing 0.2% (revised) in October. Capacity utilization edged up 0.4 point to 78.5 in November. Fed Report
U.S. News
A survey from the Wall Street Journal finds that most economists view a trade war between the U.S. and China as the biggest economic threat in 2019. Economists also identified financial market disruptions and a slowdown in business investment as concerns for next year. WSJ
Tom Hancock at the Financial Times reports that China will reduce tariffs on imported automobiles from the U.S. for three months starting January 1. China will cut tariffs on American-made cars from 40 to 15 percent in accordance with the agreement reached between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Argentina. FT