Last Week in the News

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Reflecting the stimulus from government rebate checks, retail sales rose a full percentage point in May, double what economists were anticipating, the Commerce Department reported June 12. Not including the higher prices consumers paid for gasoline, retail sales still rose a strong 0.8%, the biggest increase in a year.

Sales of existing homes in April also caught economists off guard, climbing 6.3% instead of the negative 0.4% drop they were predicting. The new reading, issued June 9 by the National Association of REALTORS®, indicates that the drop in property values has started attracting more buyers and bargain hunters.

Soaring gasoline prices helped push consumer inflation up 0.6% in May, the fastest pace in six months, the Labor Department said June 12. But core inflation, which strips out volatile gas and food prices, edged up a modest 0.2%, easing concerns that big jumps in energy and food costs were breaking through to more widespread inflation.

The nation’s trade deficit — what we import versus what we export — rose 7.8% to $60.9 billion, the largest imbalance since March 2007, the Commerce Department said June 10. Driving the deficit was a $4.3 billion increase in crude oil imports, which jumped to a record $29.3 billion in April.

New claims for unemployment benefits rose to 384,000, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported June 12.

More upbeat economic news came from the Mortgage Bankers Association, which said that mortgage loan applications rose 10.9% from the previous week. Purchase applications increased 12.1% while refi volume was up 8.4% from the previous week.

Economic news due this week includes reports on the Producer Price Index and housing starts on June 17.

Economic data compiled from government reports and news services Bloomberg.com, msnbc.com, cnbc.com, cnn.money.com and Yahoo Economic Calendar.