ECONOMICS STATISTICS REPORT

STATISTICS REPORT

These strong reading coming from 1.7% increase in auto production in August and a 4.5% jump in July. factory production increased 0.3%, matching the increase seen in July. High-tech production increased 1.5% in August after a 0.9% drop in July.

The diffusion index of industrial production increased 59% in August (see Chart 3), the highest since January. The operating rate of the nation’s industries rose to 77.4% in August from 77.3% in the prior month.

The Empire State survey and the Philly Fed survey for September present weak factory conditions, with index measuring new orders showing a decline. These factory surveys contradict the pace of activity depicted in actual production numbers. The nationwide factory survey results for September will be published on October 3.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August increased 0.4% in August after a 0.5% increase in July. Higher prices food and energy prices have raised the overall CPI in the past two months. The energy prices index increased 1.2% in August after a 2.8% gain in July, while food prices have risen 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively, in July and August. Gasoline prices at the whole sale level have dropped in the last three months but retail prices are yet to reflect the decline of the past two months.

On a year-to-year basis, the CPI had risen 3.8% in August. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2% in August, putting the year-to-year increase at 2.0% (see Chart 6). The year-to-year readings of both economic price gauges are above the Fed’s preferred non-official threshold of around 2.0%.