Weekly Economic Update: May 15 – May 19, 2017
CHART OF THE WEEK
Leading Destinations for American-Produced Goods
Which countries accounted for the largest shares of goods exported by the United States in 2016?
Canada was the largest. It accounted for over $266.8 billion, or 18%, of all U.S. goods exported in 2016. It is followed by Mexico ($231.0 billion, 16%), China ($115.8 billion, 8%), and Japan ($63.3 billion, 4%). The fifteen countries listed in the chart accounted for over 73% of the $1.45 trillion worth of goods exported from the United States in 2016.
Note: These data include only the value of exported goods (e.g., construction equipment, commodities, food) and not exported services (e.g., financial services, transportation, health care).
LAST WEEK
News & Commentary Weekly Highlights
The Columbus Dispatch: Pat Tiberi: Opioid epidemic calls for preventative efforts
Wall Street Journal: Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index Rises to 132.64
E21: Who Should Pay to Cover Pre-Existing Conditions?
E21: Hypocrites Hide Obamacare’s Flaws
Bloomberg: JPMorgan Tells Banks to Partner Up as U.S. Deposit Drain Looms
Wall Street Journal: Salaries Soar for the Class of 2017
Top Economic Indicator Highlights
Consumer Price Index (April, data reported here as percentage change from 12 months ago)
Core CPI (excludes food and energy) April: 1.9% March: 2.0% February: 2.2%
Headline CPI April: 2.2% March: 2.4% February: 2.8%
Noteworthy: While the Federal Reserve uses a broader measure of inflation (the personal consumption expenditures price index) to determine its goal of maintaining 2% average inflation, inflation as measured by the CPI has decelerated somewhat since January 2017. If this trend continues, it diminishes the likelihood of Fed rate hikes.
THIS WEEK
Upcoming JEC Hearing
Wednesday: The State of Social Capital in America Today
Upcoming Economic Data and Events
Monday
Empire State Manufacturing Survey (8:30am)
Tuesday
Business Leaders Survey (8:30am)
New Residential Construction (8:30am)
Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization (9:15am)
Wednesday
Consumer Credit Panel (11:00am)
Thursday
Philly Fed Manufacturing Survey (8:30am)
Composite Indexes (10:00am)
Friday
No data releases