Canadian Manufacturing Sales Improve

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Meanwhile, here are the major economic headlines from the last week:

• According to Statistics Canada, manufacturing sales rose 1.2 percent to $72.9 billion in May due largely to a 4.8 percent gain in sales of chemical products and a 4.8 percent increase in motor vehicle sales. Sales of primary metals declined by 6.9 percent.
• The price index for U.S. imports fell 0.2 percent in June following a 0.4 percent decline in May. June’s decline was due mainly to lower nonfuel prices. Prices for U.S. exports decreased 0.9 percent in June, after declining 1.9 percent the previous month.
• U.S. inflation is taming. The country’s producer price index (PPI) rose only 0.1 percent from May 2023 to June 2023, its smallest increase in nearly three years and a reading that indicates the nation’s economy has entered a disinflationary phase. The PPI rose 0.1 percent between June 2022 and June 2023. Food prices were down, but energy prices increased last month. Read the full report here. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 percent from May to June and three percent year-over-year.
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 237,000 individuals filed for federal unemployment benefits during the week that ended July 8, a decrease of 12,000 from the week before. The four-week moving average was 246,750, down 6,750 from the prior week. During the week that ended July 1, 1.729 million individuals continued to receive federal jobless benefits, an increase of 11,000 from the week before. The four-week moving average of continuing claims was 1,735,250, a decrease of 10,750 from the previous week.
• In other economic news: U.S. employees’ real average hourly earnings increased 0.2 percent from May 2023 to June 2023 and 1.2 percent from June 2022 to June 2023; the National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Optimism Index increased 1.6 points in June to 91.0, but it still was the 18th consecutive month that the index was below the 49-year average of 98 and employers still indicated they are worried about inflation and labor quality; and U.S. wholesale sales were down 0.2 percent from April 2023 to May 2023 and four percent from May 2022 to May 2023. Read more about that report here.