Econ Edge: The Economic Week

By
DAN ARNALL
September 14, 2006, 9:56 AM ET
2 min read

Sept. 11, 2006 — -- Here is a look at this week's economic news calendar:

Monday, Sept. 11

The Energy Department says the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline dropped $0.11 last week to $2.62, falling to its lowest price since April 3. Since mid-August, prices at the pump have fallen $0.42 from a summer high of $3.04. That's a 14 percent slide in prices. Prices are 11 percent lower than the retail price a year ago ($2.96).

Tuesday, Sept. 12

[expected: -$65.5 billion / prior: -$64.8 billion]

The Commerce Department says the U.S. trade deficit reached a new record level during July. In a report issued this morning the government said that $68 billion left U.S. shores during the month, thanks in large part to a high bill for imported oil. The previous record (-$66.6 billion) was set last October.

[prior: -15 / trend: slight rebound]

The overall ABC/Post Consumer Comfort Index, based on this rating along with views of the buying climate and personal finances, stands at -13 on its scale of +100 to -100. But that ranges from -37 among Democrats to +33 among Republicans, a vast 70-point gap.

Wednesday, Sept. 13

This weekly report shows the nation's stockpiles of key energy supplies of crude and all its derivatives. The government also releases information showing consumer demand.

Thursday, Sept. 14

[expected: +0.3 percent / prior: +1.4 percent]

The Commerce Department reported that the nation's retailers saw a tiny 0.2 percent increase last month following a much bigger 1.4 percent rise in July. It was the weakest performance since saleshad actually fallen by 0.5 percent in June. Much of the August weakness reflected a sharp slowdown in auto sales, which edged up just 0.4 percent last month after having surged by 4.3 percent in July.

Friday, Sept. 15

[expected: +0.3 percent / prior: +0.4 percent]

Is inflation affecting prices at the retail level? Last month saw price hikes moderate a bit, taking a bit of fear out of the nation's inflation watch. This number, which was in line with expectations, gave the Fed a bit of backup in its decision to stop hiking rates in August.

Some information was compiled from wire services.