Full text of U.S. Financial Data : June 20, 2002

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June 20, 2002

USFinancialData
THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:
■ In May, the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4 percent.
The index, which is maintained by the Conference Board, has risen
in five of the past six months.
■ U.S. exports of goods and services totaled $80.1 billion in April,
up 2.2 percent from March. The current-dollar value of goods and
services imported into the United States totaled $116.0 billion in
April, up 4.7 percent from March. Accordingly, the U.S. trade deficit
increased (in absolute terms) $3.5 billion in April to $35.9 billion.
The April trade data reflected the Census Bureau’s annual revisions
to its goods and services trade data. In this instance, data were
revised back to 1998.
■ For the week ending June 15, initial claims for state unemployment
insurance benefits totaled 393,000, down 2,000 from the previous
week. The four-week moving average totaled 396,250, its lowest
level since the week ending March 16.
■ In May, the consumer price index (CPI) was unchanged after rising
at a 4.3 percent annual rate from January to April. Excluding food
and energy prices, the CPI rose at a 1.9 percent rate in May after
rising at a 2.6 percent rate over the previous three months. Measured
from a year earlier, the CPI is up 1.2 percent, while the core CPI
has increased 2.5 percent.
■ The number of new single-family houses started in May totaled
1,733,000 units at an annual rate, up 11.6 percent from April and
the largest increase since July 1995. Housing starts averaged
1,643,000 units between April and May, down 4.8 percent from
their first-quarter average of 1,725,000 units.
All data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise indicated.
U.S. Financial Data will continue to be mailed to all subscribers through June 27, 2003. After that date,
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To obtain more information on the data, access the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database
at <www.stls.frb.org/fred> or call (314) 444-8590.