Full text of U.S. Financial Data : May 27, 1999

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May 27, 1999

USFinancialData
THE WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
Growth of real GDP during the first quarter was revised down from
4.5 percent to 4.1 percent according to the preliminary estimate.
This downward revision stemmed from a smaller accumulation of
business inventories and an upward revision to real imports of
goods and services. Measured from four quarters earlier,
real GDP has increased 3.9 percent.
Adjusted for inventory valuation changes and capital consumption
allowances, corporate profits before tax rose $30.3 billion during
the first quarter, or 4.3 percent. This increase was the largest in
four years. Measured from four quarters earlier, before-tax profits
are up 2.7 percent.
New orders for manufactured durable goods fell 2.3 percent in April,
the second drop in the past three months. Excluding transportation
equipment orders, however, which plunged 12.4 percent, durable
goods orders rose 0.9 percent in April. Shipments of durable
goods fell 0.6 percent in April, following a 1.9 percent increase in
March. Measured from a year earlier, new orders for durable
goods are up 2.9 percent, while shipments have risen 5.4 percent.
The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence rose
0.3 percentage points in May to 135.8 percent (1985=100),
the highest reading in 10 months.
Sales of existing single family homes were at an annual rate
of 5.24 million units in April, off 3.3 percent from March’s
record-setting pace but up 6.3 percent from a year earlier.
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
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