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The week of 18 August– 24 August 2016 Volume 28 Number 01
Source: Bureau of Labour Statistics
US: Cost of energy in Jul 2016 (Change from the prior month)
In Jul, industrial
production rose
0.7% from Jun,
with a broad-
based increase in
all major industry
groups
United States
Producer price index
In Jul, the seasonally
adjusted producer price
index (PPI) for final demand
fell by 0.4% from Jun due
to the declining costs of
foods and energy – see
table 10. Excluding foods
and energy, the core PPI
remained unchanged from
the previous month. On
a year-on-year basis, the
headline PPI fell by 0.2%,
while the core PPI rose
by 0.8% – see figure 3.
Nevertheless, inflationary
pressure is likely to remain
mild in the coming months
amidst an uncertain global
economic outlook.
Retail sales
In Jul, retail sales
remained unchanged,
month-on-month, mainly
supported by a strong
increase in the sales of
motor vehicles & parts – see
table 11. Excluding motor
Table 11 Retail Sales (% change)
Change from
prior month
Change from
prior year
Total 0.0 2.3
Ex-auto & parts -0.3 2.2
Motor vehicles & parts 1.1 2.4
Furniture & home furniture 0.2 4.3
Electronics & appliance -0.1 -3.8
Food & beverages -0.6 1.4
Health & personal care 0.1 7.8
Gasoline stations -2.7 -11.0
Clothing & clothing accessories -0.5 -1.2
General merchandise -0.1 -1.1
Source: Census Bureau
Table 10 Producer Price Index (% change from prior month)
May 2016 Jun 2016 Jul 2016
Total final demand 0.4 0.5 -0.4
Final demand goods 0.7 0.8 -0.4
Excluding foods and energy 0.3 0.0 0.0
Foods 0.3 0.9 -1.1
Energy 2.8 4.1 -1.0
Final demand services 0.2 0.4 -0.3
Source: Bureau of Labour Statistics
Table 12 Consumer Price Index (% change from the prior month)
May 2016 Jun 2016 Jul 2016
All Items 0.2 0.2 0.0
All items less food and energy 0.2 0.2 0.1
Energy 1.2 1.3 -1.6
Food -0.2 -0.1 0.0
Apparel 0.8 -0.4 0.0
Shelter 0.4 0.3 0.2
Transportation 0.3 0.3 -0.2
Medical care 0.5 0.2 0.5
Source: Bureau of Labour Statistics
from the previous month.
Excluding the food and
energy components, the
core CPI edged up
by 0.1% – see table
12. Year-on-year,
the headline CPI
rose by 0.8%, while
the core CPI rose by
2.2% – see figure 5.
Industrial
production
In Jul, industrial
production rose
0.7% from Jun,
with a broad-
based increase in
all major industry
groups – see table
13. The overall
vehicles & parts, retail sales
fell by 0.3%. On a year-on-
year basis, retail sales rose
by 2.3% – see figure 4.
Consumer price index
The headline consumer
price index (CPI) in Jul
remained unchanged
industry capacity utilisation
rate also rose from 75.4%
in Jun to 75.9% in Jul.
On a year-on-year basis,
industrial production fell by
0.5%. Due to a relatively
strong US$ and weak global
demand, growth in industrial
production is expected to
remain modest in the coming
months – see figure 6.
Housing starts
Housing starts in Jul rose
2.1%, month-on-month, and
5.6%, year-on-year, to a
seasonally-adjusted annual
rate (SAAR) of 1.211 mln
units. Housing starts have
exceeded 1 mln units for the
16th consecutive month –
see figure 7. The number
of single-family and multi-
family housing units under
construction rose 0.5% and
8.3%, month-on-month,
respectively. Year-on-year,
single-family housing starts
increased 1.3% to a SAAR
of 770,000 units, while
The number of US housing starts rose to its fastest pace. However, signs of a
slowdown in building permits require vigilant observation.
Table 13 Industrial Production (%)
May 2016 Jun 2016
m-o-m
Jul 2016
y-o-y
Jul 2016
Total industry -0.2 0.4 0.7 -0.5
Major market groups
Final products -0.3 0.5 0.6 0.1
Consumer goods -0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Business equipment -0.1 0.6 0.6 0.0
Construction -0.8 -0.3 0.4 1.5
Materials 0.0 0.5 1.0 -1.5
Major industry groups
Manufacturing -0.2 0.3 0.5 0.2
Mining 0.8 -0.3 0.7 -10.5
Utilities -0.4 2.1 2.1 3.5
Source: Federal Reserve
TURN TO PAGE 5
Figure 3 Producer Price Index
Figure 4 Retail Sales
Figure 6 Industrial Production Index
Figure 5 Consumer Price Index
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