Business Week Index

BusinessWeek Index

PRODUCTION INDICATORS

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO % CHG

STEEL (4/1) thous. of net tons 1,980 2,036# 4.5

AUTOS (4/1) units 147,521 150,887r# 34.1

TRUCKS (4/1) units 118,614 120,368r# 28.7

ELECTRIC POWER (4/1)

millions of kilowatt-hrs. 54,969 55,091# 2.5

CRUDE-OIL REFINING (4/1)

thous. of bbl./day 13,478 13,402# 4.7

COAL (3/25) thous. of net tons 21,226# 21,258 -2.7

PAPERBOARD (3/25) thous. of tons 923.4# 905.0r 5.2

PAPER (3/25) thous. of tons 851.0# 840.0r 4.0

LUMBER (3/25) millions of ft. 449.9# 446.6 -5.4

RAIL FREIGHT (3/25)

billions of ton-miles 24.2# 24.1 3.0

Sources: American Iron & Steel Institute, Ward's Automotive Reports, Edison

Electric Institute, American Petroleum Institute, Energy Dept., American Forest

& Paper Association, WWPA1, SFPA2, Association of American Railroads

LEADING INDICATORS

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO % CHG

STOCK PRICES (3/31) S&P 500 502.63 496.76 11.5

CORPORATE BOND YIELD, Aaa (3/31) 8.08% 8.10% 5.6

INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS PRICES (3/31) 113.9 114.3 NA*

BUSINESS FAILURES (3/24) NA NA NA

REAL ESTATE LOANS (3/22) billions $468.5 $468.5 11.1

MONEY SUPPLY, M2 (3/20) billions $3,603.0 $3,590.3r 1.5

INITIAL CLAIMS, UNEMPLOYMENT

(3/18) thous. 346 343 1.8

Sources: Center for International Business Cycle Research (CIBCR), Standard &

Poor's, Moody's, Journal of Commerce (index: 1990=100), Dun & Bradstreet

(failures of large companies), Federal Reserve, Labor Dept. CIBCR seasonally

adjusts data on business failures and real estate loans. *Historical data

available from CIBCR.

PRICES

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO % CHG

GOLD (4/5) $/troy oz. 392.050 383.000 1.6

STEEL SCRAP (4/4) #1 heavy, $/ton 137.50 137.50 1.9

COPPER (4/1) cents/lb. 145.1 145.2 56.9

ALUMINUM (4/1) cents/lb. 89.5 87.0 40.9

COTTON (4/1) strict low

middling 1-1/16 in., cents/lb. 97.42 104.69 33.1

OIL (4/4) $/bbl. 19.07 18.93 21.1

Sources: London Wednesday final setting, Chicago market, Metals Week, Memphis

market, NYMEX

INTEREST RATES

LATEST WEEK YEAR

WEEK AGO AGO

FEDERAL FUNDS (4/4) 6.08% 6.10% 3.69%

COMMERCIAL PAPER (4/5) 3-month 6.14 6.15 3.99

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT (4/5) 3-month 6.13 6.17 3.93

FIXED MORTGAGE (3/31) 30-year 8.59 8.63 8.19

ADJUSTABLE MORTGAGE (3/31) one-year 6.37 6.40 4.74

PRIME (4-5) 9.00 9.00 6.25

Sources: Federal Reserve, HSH Associates, Reuters Holdings PLC

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

LATEST WEEK YEAR

WEEK AGO AGO

JAPANESE YEN (4/5) 86.30 88.25 105.25

GERMAN MARK (4/5) 1.38 1.38 1.71

BRITISH POUND (4/5) 1.61 1.61 1.48

FRENCH FRANC (4/5) 4.83 4.87 5.87

ITALIAN LIRA (4/5) 1718.1 1705.5 1632.3

CANADIAN DOLLAR (4/5) 1.39 1.40 1.38

MEXICAN PESO (4/5)3 6.465 6.795 3.355

Sources: Major New York banks. Currencies expressed in units per U.S. dollar,

except for British pound in dollars

#Raw data in the production indicators are seasonally adjusted in computing the

BW index (chart); other components (estimated and not listed) include machinery

and defense equipment. 1=Western Wood Products Assn. 2=Southern Forest

Products Assn. 3=Free market value NA=Not available r=revised NM=Not

meaningful