Business Week Index

BusinessWeek Index

PRODUCTION INDEXThe production index rose modestly in the week ended Jan. 11. Beforecalculation of the four-week moving average, the index also edged up, to 136.9from 136.3. After two weeks in which holidays closed plants at midweek,seasonally adjusted output is moving back to a smoother uptrend. In the latestweek, output of electric power was up sharply because of unusually cold weatheracross parts of the nation.BW production index copyright 1997 Bloomberg L.P.PRODUCTION INDICATORS

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO% CHG

STEEL (1/18) thous. of net tons 1,954 1,997 r# -3.9

AUTOS (1/18) units 116,180 114,608 r# 8.3

TRUCKS (1/18) units 125,925 120,155 r# 27.6

ELECTRIC POWER (1/18) millions of

kilowatt-hrs. NA 65,741# NA

CRUDE-OIL REFINING (1/18) thous. of bbl./day NA 13,774# NA

COAL (1/11) thous. of net tons 20,253# 19,773 21.1

LUMBER (1/11) millions of ft. 477.9# 298.9 4.3

RAIL FREIGHT (1/11) billions of ton-miles 25.6# 22.9 10.8

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

Electric Institute, American Petroleum Institute, Energy Dept., WWPA1, SFPA2,

Association of American Railroads

LEADING INDICATORS

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO% CHG

STOCK PRICES (1/17) S&P 500 776.17 759.50 27.9

CORPORATE BOND YIELD, Aaa (1/17) 7.39% 7.42% 9.2

INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS PRICES (1/17) 108.9 108.6 -1.2

BUSINESS FAILURES (1/10) NA NA NA

REAL ESTATE LOANS (1/8) billions NA NA NA

MONEY SUPPLY, M2 (1/6) billions $3,841.7 $3,824.4r 4.5

INITIAL CLAIMS, UNEMPLOYMENT (1/11) thous. 323 355r 2.2

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

& Bradstreet (failures of large companies), Federal Reserve, Labor Dept.

PRICES

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO% CHG

GOLD (1/22) $/troy oz. 351.200 354.450 -12.7

STEEL SCRAP (1/17)#1 heavy, $/ton 133.00 131.50 -8.0

COPPER (1/17) cents/lb. 112.1 112.1 -5.4

ALUMINUM (1/17) cents/lb. 77.0 75.0 2.0

COTTON (1/18) strict low middling

1-1/16 in., cents/lb. 70.26 70.08 -12.5

OIL (1/21) $/bbl. 24.37 24.86 30.0

CRB FOODSTUFFS (1/21) 1967=100 234.18 236.44 0.6

CRB RAW INDUSTRIALS (1/21) 1967=100 340.34 340.11 3.3

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

market, NYMEX, Commodity Research Bureau

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

LATEST WEEK YEAR

WEEK AGO AGO

JAPANESE YEN (1/22) 118.85 117.24 106.60

GERMAN MARK (1/22) 1.64 1.59 1.49

BRITISH POUND (1/22) 1.65 1.68 1.51

FRENCH FRANC (1/22) 5.52 5.37 5.10

ITALIAN LIRA (1/22) 1594.5 1548.5 1604.5

CANADIAN DOLLAR (1/22) 1.34 1.34 1.38

MEXICAN PESO (1/22)*** 7.792 7.809 7.400

TRADE-WEIGHTED DOLLAR INDEX (1/22) 101.5 100.2 97.3

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

except for British pound in dollars. Trade-weighted dollar via J.P. Morgan.

INTEREST RATES

LATEST WEEK YEAR

WEEK AGO AGO

FEDERAL FUNDS (1/21) 5.33% 5.14% 5.44%

COMMERCIAL PAPER (1/22) 3-month 5.44 5.46 5.35

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT (1/22) 3-month 5.41 5.43 5.36

FIXED MORTGAGE (1/17) 30-year 8.04 7.99 7.30

ADJUSTABLE MORTGAGE (1/17) one-year 5.85 5.78 5.59

PRIME (1/21) 8.25 8.25 8.50

Sources: Federal Reserve, HSH Associates, Bloomberg Financial Markets

#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. ***=Free market value NA=Not available r=revised NM=Not

meaningful

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