The U.S. December 2016 monthly trade deficit decreased 3.2% from last month and now stands at $44.3 billion. For all of 2016, the trade deficit increased 0.4% from the year previous. While that doesn't sound like much, the total amount is -$502.3 billion. This is in spite of petroleum imports being much less of a trade deficit factor.
This week's oil data for the week ending February 10th from the US Energy Information Administration showed that our imports of crude oil fell back from last week's 4 year high but still remained elevated, while our refining of that oil fell for the 5th week in a row to the second lowest rate in a year, and as a result there was another large surplus of crude that was added to our oil supplies, which were thus boosted to an all time high.
January is the month when annual adjustments are added to the unemployment report. These adjustments are just tacked onto the month of January, hence one cannot compare the past month without removing these figures. Yet, with or without the annual adjustments, this year's end result isn't much of a shift. The January unemployment rate is 4.8%. Those employed had little change as did those unemployed.
I hesitated before using my posting title above, because anyone who reads this post one day late will think it’s about whatever new controversy Trump’s has stirred up on that particular day, not the one that was raging today.
The GDP initial estimate reports a weak 1.9% economic growth for the 4th quarter. Imports really hammered GDP, just in time to validate now President Trump. Consumer spending was lower while changes in private inventories added a full percentage point to Q4 GDP. Generally speaking this report shows just how much imports can slow economic growth. U.S. Exports curtailed and as a result, -1.7 percentage points of GDP were lost in Q4.
On Trump’s third day Trump is one up on the Establishment. Can this last? I am not a Trump booster. I am a scorekeeper.
On the third day of his presidency Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacificic Partnership (TPP). Based on this we must assume he will also deep-six the Trans-Atlantic Partnership.
Trump and his advisors regard the Pacific and Atlantic partnerships as trade deals like NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement that sent American jobs to Mexico at the expense of Americans.
The Federal Reserve Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization report shows industrial production soared 0.8% in December after a November -0.7% decline. The reason for the December increase was utilities. Utilities jumped up by 6.6% on colder weather in December and very warm weather in November. Manufacturing production by itself increased 0.2% and mining was unchanged.
December 2016 retail sales increased by 0.6% and are up a whopping 4.1% from a year ago. November's retail sales were revised to a 0.2% monthly increase. The reason for December's gain were automobile sales, online sales and gas. Auto sales blew through the roof at a 2.4% monthly increase and gas did also on rising prices. Without autos & parts sales, retail sales would have increased only 0.2% for the month.
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