U.S. Economic News
August 3, 2017
U.S. Economic Indicators
New factory orders for manufactured goods rose 3.0% in June following a 0.3% drop in May, and are up 5.6% on the year. New orders excluding transportation dipped 0.2% while new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft were unchanged. Census Bureau Report
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index fell 3.5 percentage points to 53.9 in July. The new orders index dropped 5.4 percentage points to 55.1 and the employment index decreased 2.2 percentage points to 53.6. ISM Report
Initial jobless claims decreased 5,000 to 240,000 last week. The four-week moving average fell 2,500 to 241,750. DOL Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that inflation in the G20 nations has reached its lowest point since 2009. Low inflation concerns central bankers who have enacted extensive expansionary measures in recent years, but are now hesitant remove these post-crisis stimulus programs. WSJ
According to the Wall Street Journal, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren says that increasingly tight labor markets should drive the Fed to continue with interest rate hikes. Rosengren believes that there is a risk of the economy “overheating” if the unemployment rate falls much further, and that recent, weak inflation is only transitory. WSJ