New filings for jobless benefits dropped by 16,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the U.S. Labor Department reports. That’s the fifth reading below the 400,000 mark since the end of recession in June 2009. Meanwhile, the widely watched four-week moving average slipped to just over 386,000, the lowest level since the recovery began.

Continue reading →

U.S. consumer price inflation ticked higher last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Headline inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in February, up from 0.4% the month before. Core inflation, however, remained modest, advancing 0.2% last month, unchanged from January’s rate.

Continue reading →

U.S. producer prices surge in February
RBC | Mar 16
February producer prices rose a much stronger than expected 1.6% in the month following a 0.8% rise in January. Expectations had been for a sizeable increase although by a more moderate 0.7%. The strong monthly increase resulted in the year-over-year rate jumping to 5.6% from 3.6% in January. On a core basis, prices rose an expected 0.2% although this was sufficient enough to move the annual rate up to 1.8% from 1.6% in January and a recent quarterly low of 0.9% at the end of 2009.
Wholesale prices up 1.6% on steep rise in food
LA Times | Mar 16
David Resler, an economist at Nomura Securities, said the jump in prices is likely temporary, echoing remarks made by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. Much of the increase in food prices was due to winter freezes in Florida, Texas and other agricultural areas, Resler said. Turmoil in the Middle East is a major reason that motorists are facing higher gas prices. “Both food and gasoline prices are going to stop rising so rapidly,” Resler said. But John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics, disagreed, noting that consumers will feel the impact for some time. “We do not buy the Fed’s reassurance that these pressures will be temporary and we believe the public, seeing these strong increases in food and energy … will not be marking back down their inflation expectations,” Ryding said.

Continue reading →