Business Week Index

BusinessWeek Index

The production index dipped during the week ended Feb. 1. Before calculation ofthe four-week moving average, the index fell sharply, to 135.5, from 136.9 inthe previous week. On a seasonally adjusted basis, auto and truck productionwere down quite a bit. Electric power and crude-oil refining output increasedin the week. For the entire month of January, the index stood at 135.5, upmodestly from a 135.1 reading in December.BW production index copyright 1997 Bloomberg L.P.PRODUCTION INDICATORS

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO %CHG

STEEL (2/8) thous. of net tons 2,033 2,019# 2.3

AUTOS (2/8) units 126,932 126,347 r# -4.1

TRUCKS (2/8) units 128,273 130,948 r# 8.5

ELECTRIC POWER (2/8) millions of

kilowatt-hrs. NA 66,073# NA

CRUDE-OIL REFINING (2/8) thous.

of bbl./day 13,235 13,711# -2.8

COAL (2/1) thous. of net tons 20,248# 19,950 14.8

LUMBER (2/1) millions of ft. 507.3# 487.2 29.2

RAIL FREIGHT (2/1) billions of ton-miles 26.4# 26.1 11.9

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 (2/7) S&P 500 789.56 786.16 21.5

CORPORATE BOND YIELD, Aaa (2/7) 7.34% 7.48% 6.8

INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS PRICES (2/7) 109.2 107.8 -0.7

BUSINESS FAILURES (1/31) NA NA NA

REAL ESTATE LOANS (1/29) billions NA NA NA

MONEY SUPPLY, M2 (1/27) billions $3,857.8 $3,856.2 r 5.0

INITIAL CLAIMS, UNEMPLOYMENT (2/1)

thous. 325 337 -11.4

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 (2/12) $/troy oz. 337.700 343.400 -16.2

STEEL SCRAP (2/7)#1 heavy, $/ton 146.50 131.00 1.4

COPPER (2/7) cents/lb. 110.8 111.1 -8.5

ALUMINUM (2/7) cents/lb. 77.5 77.8 3.3

COTTON (2/8) strict low middling 1-1/16

in., cents/lb. 70.86 71.27 -13.6

OIL (2/11) $/bbl. 22.42 23.62 18.6

CRB FOODSTUFFS (2/11) 1967=100 235.18 234.28 0.8

CRB RAW INDUSTRIALS (2/11) 1967=100 343.47 340.27 5.5

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 (2/12) 123.83 123.37 105.76

GERMAN MARK (2/12) 1.68 1.65 1.47

BRITISH POUND (2/12) 1.63 1.64 1.54

FRENCH FRANC (2/12) 5.68 5.56 5.05

ITALIAN LIRA (2/12) 1649.0 1622.7 1583.2

CANADIAN DOLLAR (2/12) 1.36 1.34 1.38

MEXICAN PESO (2/12)*** 7.790 7.820 7.540

TRADE-WEIGHTED DOLLAR INDEX (2/12) 104.3 103.2 96.3

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 (2/11) 5.07% 5.18% 5.09%

COMMERCIAL PAPER (2/12) 3-month 5.40 5.43 5.12

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT (2/12) 3-month 5.36 5.40 5.45

FIXED MORTGAGE (2/7) 30-year 7.89 8.05 7.29

ADJUSTABLE MORTGAGE (2/7) one-year 5.74 5.83 5.39

PRIME (2/11) 8.25 8.25 8.25

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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