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June 21, 2001

USFinancialData
THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:
■ In April, the U.S. goods and services trade deficit measured $32.2
billion, down $1 billion (in absolute terms) from March. After falling
1.9 percent in March, U.S. exports fell 2 percent in April. Imports
fell 2.2 percent in April, nearly offsetting the 2.3 percent increase
registered in March. Measured from a year earlier, U.S. exports are
down 1.2 percent, the first year-over-year decline since March 1999.
The value of imports, however, are up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.
Trade data are not adjusted for price changes.
■ First-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits totaled
400,000 for the week ending June 16, 34,000 less than the previous
week. The four-week moving average measure of initial claims
totaled 422,500, up 4.6 percent from four weeks earlier and up
18.9 percent year-to-date.
■ The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.5 percent in May,
the largest increase since December 1999. Stock prices (S&P 500)
and the yield spread between 10-year U.S. Treasury securities and
the federal funds rate were responsible for about half of the
index’s increase.
■ In May, the combined number of single and multifamily houses
started totaled 1,622,000 units, down 0.4 percent from April.
Single-family starts fell 0.2 percent in May, while multifamily
starts fell 1.5 percent. The number of new permits rose 2.1 percent
in May to 1,621,000 units. Measured from a year earlier, housing
starts are up 3.1 percent, while permits are up 5.3 percent.
All data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise indicated.
U.S. Financial Data is published weekly by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of
St. Louis. For more information on data, please call (314) 444-8590. To be added to the mailing
list, please call (314) 444-8809.
Information in this publication is also included in the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) data base
on the internet at www.stls.frb.org/fred.