Full text of U.S. Financial Data : October 12, 2000

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October 12, 2000

USFinancialData
THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:
■ Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits totaled
306,000 for the week ending Oct. 7. Measured on a four-week
moving average basis, claims totaled 301,500, the fewest in
eight weeks.
■ Boosted by a 14.1 percent increase in petroleum prices, the index
of U.S. import prices jumped 1.5 percent in September, the largest
gain in seven months. Import prices have increased at a 6.2 percent
annual rate year-to-date.
■ The nominal value of wholesalers’ sales excluding motor vehicles
increased 0.1 percent in August, while non-automotive wholesale
inventories rose 0.8 percent. The inventory-to-sales ratio in the
wholesale sector outside of motor vehicle trade rose to 1.28 in
August, its highest level since April 1999.
■ According to preliminary figures, yields on Aaa-rated corporate
bonds averaged 7.56 percent for the week ending Oct. 13, down
4 basis points from four weeks earlier. During the same period,
yields on Baa-rated bonds fell 1 basis point to 8.34 percent. The
yield spread between Aaa and Baa corporate bonds averaged
71 basis points during the third quarter, down 11 basis points
from the second-quarter average spread.
■ After falling 131,000 during July and August, nonfarm payroll
employment rose 252,000 in September. The civilian unemployment
rate fell 0.2 percentage points in September to 3.9 percent, matching
the 30-year low set in April.
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.