Full text of U.S. Financial Data : March 1, 2001

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

March 1, 2001

USFinancialData
THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:
s Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) measured in current
dollars rose at an 8.5 percent annual rate in January. But with the
PCE price index increasing at a 5.9 percent rate, real consumer
spending only advanced at a 2.4 percent rate.
s According to the preliminary estimate, real GDP grew at a 1.1
percent annual rate during the fourth quarter of 2000. The advance
estimate had pegged fourth-quarter growth at 1.4 percent. Growth
of the GDP price index was also revised lower, from 2.1 percent to
1.9 percent.
s Manufacturing activity declined for the seventh consecutive month,
according to the February report issued by the National Association
of Purchasing Managers.
s Real construction spending increased 1.2 percent in January, the
fifth increase in the past six months.
s After a record-high sales rate of 1,034,000 units (annualized)
in December, new home sales fell 10.9 percent in January to
921,000 units.
s In January, new orders for manufactured durable goods fell
6 percent, the first decline in three months. Shipments of durable
goods, in contrast, fell 1.7 percent, the fourth consecutive decline.
Measured from a year earlier, orders for durable goods have
declined 5.6 percent, while shipments are down 3.1 percent. The
12-month growth for both measures is the weakest since 1991.
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) 444-8808 or (314) 444-8809.
Information in this publication is also included in the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) electronic
bulletin board at (314) 621-1824 or internet World Wide Web server at www.stls.frb.org/fred.