Economic Barometer: June 2023

• Consumer confidence has sunk to six-month low, but consumers’ appetite for big-ticket items, including autos and appliances, increased, according to OMA Connections Partner RSM.
• RSM’s U.S. Manufacturing Outlook Index continued to fall in May as firms reported decreases in shipments and new orders.
• April’s 676,000 U.S. manufacturing job openings were the lowest since February 2021, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
• There were 120,000 layoffs by U.S. manufacturers in April, the most since July 2020.
• Mortgage demand dipped to its lowest level in three months this week, CNBC reports.

Meanwhile, new data from the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — shows year-over-year inflation at 4.4%. That’s higher than the 4.2% annual rate in March, but well off the 6.9% seen in June 2022. 6/1/2023