Economic indicators

Initial claims for jobless benefits, after seasonal adjustment, declined 2,000 to 236,000 instead of rising as the consensus expected in the May 6 week. Claims the previous week had gone down an unrevised 19,000. Before adjustment, claims in the current week rose 3,732.

The producer price index exceeded expectations in April as interest rates, hotel rooms, cigarettes and gasoline rose, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The federal government ran a $182.4 billion surplus in April, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

Labor market “activity increased and momentum remained high in April,” as the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) climbed to 0.40 in April from 0.28 in March, according to the Bank.

U.S. import prices rose by 0.5% in April on a 1.6% gain in fuel prices and across-the-board increases in the non-fuel components, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday.

An eight-month high in March job openings and a pickup in quits indicate the U.S. labor market continues to tighten, a Labor Department report showed.

The value of wholesale inventories rose 0.2% in March, a sharp upward adjustment from the 0.1% decline estimated in the advance estimate, while wholesale sales were flat, data released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department showed.

Small business owners showed enthusiasm for current conditions but are worried about the future, according to National Federation of Independent Business' monthly Small Business Optimism index published Tuesday.

Income expectations rose, but consumers expect to spend less, according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) grew to 132.64 in April from 131.58 in March, and is up 4.1% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

Consumer credit increased by $16.4 billion in March to $3.806 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were unchanged in April, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

Payrolls rebounded in April a little better than expected but the standout number was the 4.4% unemployment rate, the lowest since May 2001.

The value of new factory orders rose by 0.2% in March, slower than the 0.4% gain expected, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday morning showed.

Nonfarm productivity fell by 0.6% in the preliminary estimate for the first quarter, compared with a 0.2% decline expected.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell 19,000 to 238,000 in the April 29 week.

The U.S. international trade gap narrowed in March to $43.7 billion, smaller than the $44.4 billion gap expected and following a slightly wider $43.7 billion gap in February, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday morning showed.

About 4,613,600 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in April, a decrease of 26,100 from March, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

The U.S. services sector expanded in April as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 57.5 in the month, compared to 55.2 in March, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday.

Private-sector employment increased by 177,000 in April, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP estimated Wednesday.