Relay races are exciting. You get the fastest runners from around the globe and wait for world records to be set. Of course, the most dangerous portion of the competition occurs during the handoff. If a smooth connection isn’t made, forget finishing the race, let alone contacting the folks from Guinness World Records.
Before we get started on the details of December 2018 Industrial Production, I want to point out that the Federal Reserve’s latest release completes the first 100 years for this indicator. It’s first publication covered data for January 1919. The chart above is a copy of the first chart for industrial production.
Price changes were rather minor in December 2018 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1 percent at the headline and increased 1.9 percent in the past year. Removing the two volatile components (food and energy) leaves the core-CPI figure which increased 0.2 percent and 2.2 percent during the month and year respectively.
Concerns regarding economic improvements are growing within the circle of central bankers in Washington D.C. On Wednesday, the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve were released, and they show some willingness to take on a “wait and see” approach to monetary policy.
Industrial Production surged in November according to the Federal Reserve. Their measure of all physically produced wares jumped 0.6 percent after a downwardly revised count of minus 0.2 percent (originally +0.1 percent). During the past twelve months, this indicator is up 3.9 percent.
Industrial production was strong in August 2018 according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve. Output of all physically made wares increased 0.4 percent. Perhaps more importantly, this uptick was on the heels of July’s upwardly revised tally which also grew 0.4 percent (originally 0.1 percent), and June’s increase of 0.4 percent as well.
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