Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Quick Overview

  • U.S. wholesale prices increased 0.6% in April. The YoY gain in the PPI slowed to 4.8% in April from 4.9% in March. Core prices were up 2.6% YoY, unchanged from March.

  • Industrial production fell 0.2% in April. Capacity utilization eased to 79.2% from 79.4%.

  • Construction of new U.S. houses rose 11% in April to a seasonally adjusted 2.04 million annualized units.

  • Japan's economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the first quarter of 2005, more than double the rate expected as robust private consumption and corporate investment more than made up for weak export growth.

  • Lease rates are lower due to a large surplus of new containers that has built up in China over the past few weeks as factories over-reacted to last year’s shortages.

  • U.S. manufacturing output growth will slow to a 3.5 percent pace this year from 5.1 percent in 2004 as both business and household investment weaken, the Manufacturing Institute said on Tuesday.

  • Researchers at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory have learned to produce 10-carat, half-inch thick single-crystal diamonds at rapid growth rates (100 micrometers per hour) .

  • The average price of retail diesel fuel fell for a third straight week, dropping 3.8 cents to $2.189 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

  • YoY Consumer prices in the U.K. were up 1.9% , under the 2.0% target rate.

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