Restrained Inflation Keeps Pressure off Fed

Consumer Price Index (December 2012)

– CPI Month/Month Core (less food & energy) +0.1%

– CPI Month/Month Overall +0.0%

-CPI Year/Year Core (less food & energy) +1.9%

-CPI Year/Year Overall +1.7%

For now this alleviates fear that expanding money supply has caused inflation.  The art for the Fed is decreasing money supply before it incites inflation.

 

Industrial Production (December 2012)

– Production – Month/Month +0.3%. Previous was +1.1%

– Capacity Utilization Rate – Level  78.8%. Previous was 78.4%

– Manufacturing – Month/Month Previous was +1.1%.

Manufacturing in this report looks better than it has in the recent regional reports. This could come from lack of consistency in defining what is “manufacturing.”

 

MBA Mortgage Applications (week ended 1/11/2013)

– Purchase Index – Week/Week +12.9%

– Refinance Index – Week/Week +15.3%

– Composite Index – Week/Week +15.2%

This data suffers from comparison with a previous week which contained New Year’s Day.

 

National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index (January 2013)

– Index Level is 47 same as previous.  A reading below 50 is negative.  This is a survey index asking, essentially, if business is good or bad.