Business Week Index

BusinessWeek Index

The production index fell slightly during the week ended Apr. 8. Before

calculation of the four-week moving average, the index dropped more sharply, to

121.9, from 123.1. Declines in the seasonally adjusted output of rail freight,

autos, and paperboard led the decline.

The leading index edged higher in the latest week. The unaveraged index fell a

bit, to 255.2 from 255.3. That reflected slower growth rates for materials

prices and M2.

BW production index copyright 1994 Bloomberg L.P. BW leading index

copyright 1994 by CIBCR

PRODUCTION INDICATORS

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO % CHG

STEEL (4/15) thous. of net tons 1,970 1,995# 3.2

AUTOS (4/15) units 111,450 132,725r# -23.2

TRUCKS (4/15) units 93,755 118,109r# -23.7

ELECTRIC POWER (4/15)

millions of kilowatt-hrs. 54,301 54,197# 1.9

CRUDE-OIL REFINING (4/15)

thous. of bbl./day 13,615 13,512# 1.0

COAL (4/8) thous. of net tons 19,673# 20,953 -3.4

PAPERBOARD (4/8) thous. of tons 894.0# 931.7r 4.5

PAPER (4/8) thous. of tons 848.0# 860.0r 5.9

LUMBER (4/8) millions of ft. 425.4# 436.4 -8.4

RAIL FREIGHT (4/8)

billions of ton-miles 23.6# 24.4 5.8

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 (4/14) S&P 500 507.24 505.04 13.4

CORPORATE BOND YIELD, Aaa (4/14) 8.04% 8.05% 2.2

INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS PRICES (4/14) 114.7 114.0 NA*

BUSINESS FAILURES (4/7) 351 304 59.5

REAL ESTATE LOANS (4/5) billions $471.6 $470.2r 10.6

MONEY SUPPLY, M2 (4/3) billions $3,599.5 $3,606.5r 1.4

INITIAL CLAIMS,

UNEMPLOYMENT (4/1) thous. 342 338 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 (4/19) $/troy oz. 395.550 390.050 5.4

STEEL SCRAP (4/18) #1 heavy, $/ton 137.50 137.50 0.0

COPPER (4/15) cents/lb. 141.5 143.3 56.0

ALUMINUM (4/15) cents/lb. 90.0 91.8 43.8

COTTON (4/15) strict low

middling 1-1/16 in., cents/lb. 106.76 99.59 40.8

OIL (4/18) $/bbl. 20.10 19.84 19.6

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

market, NYMEX

INTEREST RATES

LATEST WEEK YEAR

WEEK AGO AGO

FEDERAL FUNDS (4/18) 5.98% 5.91% 3.59%

COMMERCIAL PAPER (4/18) 3-month 6.10 6.13 4.11

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT (4/19) 3-month 6.11 6.12 4.08

FIXED MORTGAGE (4/14) 30-year 8.57 8.61 8.42

ADJUSTABLE MORTGAGE (4/14) one-year 6.35 6.40 5.02

PRIME (4/19) 9.00 9.00 6.39

Sources: Federal Reserve, HSH Associates, Reuters Holdings PLC

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

LATEST WEEK YEAR

WEEK AGO AGO

JAPANESE YEN (4/19) 81.23 83.88 103.77

GERMAN MARK (4/19) 1.36 1.40 1.69

BRITISH POUND (4/19) 1.62 1.59 1.49

FRENCH FRANC (4/19) 4.82 4.89 5.80

ITALIAN LIRA (4/19) 1713.1 1723.8 1620.0

CANADIAN DOLLAR (4/19) 1.37 1.38 1.38

MEXICAN PESO (4/19)3 6.165 6.175 3.366

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