New UE Claims at 353,000 and Producer Price Inflation surges

[papau]

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm
April 22, 2004 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending April 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 353,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 362,000. The 4-week moving average was 347,000, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 344,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending April 10, unchanged from the priorweek's unrevised rate of 2.4 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 10 was 3,019,000, an increase of 52,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,967,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,008,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,010,000.


UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 332,775 in the week ending April 17, a decrease of 17,653 from the previous week. There were 399,180 initial claims in the comparable week in 2003.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent during the week ending April 10, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,157,601, an increase of 45,356 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.0 percent and the volume was 3,736,748.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm
Producer Price Index News Release APRIL 22, 2004
Producer Price Indexes -- March 2004

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.5 percent in
March, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 0.1-percent gain in February and a 0.6-percent rise in January. At the earlier stages of processing, prices for both intermediate goods and crude goods moved up 0.7 percent in March, after increasing 0.9 and 2.5 percent, respectively,in the prior month. (See table A.)

Table A. Monthly and annual percent changes in selected stage-of-processing price indexes, seasonally adjusted
______________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | |
| | Finished goods | | |
| | | | |
| |---------------------------------------------------------| | |
| | | | | | Change in | | |
| | | | | Except |finished goods| Inter- | |
| | | | |foods and|from 12 months| mediate | Crude |
| Month | Total | Foods | Energy | energy | ago(unadj.) | goods | goods |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
2003
Mar. 1.3 0.3 4.8 0.6 4.0 2.1 13.2
-2-

During the first quarter of 2004, prices for finished goods advanced
at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 percent, after rising at a 2.8- percent rate during the final three months of 2003. Excluding prices forfoods and energy, the finished goods index increased at a 2.1-percentseasonally adjusted annual rate for the three months ended March 2004,following a 1.3-percent rate of increase in the last quarter of 2003.Among prices for raw and partially processed goods, the seasonally adjustedannual rate of increase for intermediate goods prices accelerated from 2.7
percent to 10.1 percent from the final quarter of 2003 to the first quarterof 2004. The crude goods index moved up at a 26.3-percent seasonallyadjusted annual rate during the first quarter of 2004, after advancing at a23.6-percent rate in the last three months of 2003.

Intermediate goods

The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and
Components increased 0.7 percent in March, after rising 0.9 percent inFebruary. The indexes for durable manufacturing materials, nondurablemanufacturing materials, and intermediate energy goods rose less in Marchthan they did in February. Conversely, prices for intermediate foodstuffsand feedstuffs advanced more quickly than they did in the preceding month.The index for materials and components for construction increased at thesame rate in March as it did in February. The index for intermediate goodsother than foods and energy moved up 0.6 percent, after gaining 0.9 percent in February. (See table B.)

Subsequent to a 3.5-percent climb in February, the index for materialsfor durable manufacturing rose 2.0 percent. Prices for cold rolled steelsheet and strip increased 3.0 percent, after a 12.4-percent advance inFebruary. Likewise, the indexes for building paper and board, primaryaluminum (except extrusion billet), plywood, and semifinished steel millproducts rose more slowly in March than they did in the previous month.Aluminum mill shape prices fell, after rising in February. By contrast,prices for prepared paint increased 0.4 percent, after a 0.3-percentdecline in the preceding month. The indexes for unprocessed filament yarnsand textile bags turned up in March, while the index for copper cathode andrefined copper rose at a quicker pace than it did in the prior month.Prices for materials for durable manufacturing advanced at a 29.7-percent
seasonally adjusted annual rate from December 2003 to March 2004, afterregistering an 8.7-percent rate of increase during the previous threemonths.

*****
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not scheduled a revised release date forthe April 2004 PPI, originally scheduled for Thursday, May 13. If apostponement is necessary, it will be announced at least one day ahead oftime on the BLS website and through a news advisory.

[cosmicdot]

1. my earthlink start page didn't feature that info this a.m.

... instead ... one of the top business stories was more 'upbeat' propaganda for Bush* ... I wish the Fed would just go ahead and do the inevitable: raise the interest rate, and see how robust the economy is ...

Jobless Claims Drop by 9,000 Last Week

April 22, 2004 07:40 AM EDT


WASHINGTON - Fewer people signed up for jobless benefits last week, a sign that companies are feeling less inclined to slash their work forces now that the economy is rebounding.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance dropped by a seasonally adjusted 9,000 to 353,000 for the week ending April 17. The decline, which came after new applications rose sharply in the previous week, left claims at a level that was higher than the 340,000 analysts were expecting.

Still, the overall trend in new jobless claims filings has been a slow drift downward. Claims hit a high last year of 444,000 in the middle of April. This year, new filings for jobless benefits each week have managed to stay under 400,000, a sign that the jobs market is getting better, economists say.

In a second report from the department, wholesale prices rose by 0.5 percent in March, up from February's 0.1 percent increase. Much of last month's increase reflected higher costs for food products, which jumped by 1.5 percent, and for energy, including gasoline, which went up by 0.6 percent.

With the economy gaining momentum, some companies are finding it easier to raise prices. But Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Wednesday said that inflation remains low and isn't a problem for the economy now.

Healthy productivity gains by companies and many businesses still operating below full throttle "to date have checked any sustained acceleration of the general price level and should continue to do so for a time," Greenspan said on Capitol Hill.

http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=1&aid=D823RQM80_story

[papau]

2. Now one shouldn't believe in a GOP controlled media-they just act that way

:-)

[On the Road]

3. The US is Getting the Disadvantages of an Overheated Economy

without the advantages.

China, India, and other developing countries have hot economies, and demand for materials is growing. Since markets are more global, that means producer prices are going up everywhere.

But the US economy isn't benefiting because all the increase in jobs is being picked up overseas. Not to mention the higher prices that come from a lower dollar. You would think the decline in the dollar would have led to increased exports at this point.

You can argue for a strong or a weak dollar, for low inflation or for high growth, but we seem to have the worst of both. Snow is not the man for the job -- what a dipshit.