Episode 31: Broader economic indicators call for careful monitoring.
- In June, the Consumer Price Index declined 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis but was still up 3% year-over-year.
- Excluding food and energy, the index recorded a modest 0.1% increase, the smallest in almost 3 years.
- Building permits for privately-owned housing units increased 3.4% in June but were still down 3.1% compared to the same month last year.
- Housing completions surged 10.1% between May and June, fueling a significant year-over-year increase of 15.5%.
- Initial unemployment claims rose to 243,000 in the week ending July 13, which was a 20,000 increase from the preceding week.
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced the Fed will not wait for inflation to reach 2% before cutting interest rates.
For more information on the state of the U.S. Economy, including forecasts, watch all the episodes of the Economy Express series.
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