Business Week Index

BusinessWeek Index

PRODUCTION INDEXThe production index rose in the week ended Jan. 24. The unaveraged index wasup 1%, to 134.2, from 132.9 a week ago. After seasonal adjustment,rail-freight traffic, led by a strong gain in coal loadings, was up sharply.And production of bituminous coal was up 5.2%, with the highest increases inOklahoma, Louisiana, and Ohio. Output of steel, trucks, crude oil, and lumberalso increased. Both auto and electric-power production dipped 0.4%.BW production index copyright 1998 Bloomberg L.P.PRODUCTION INDICATORS

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO % CHG

STEEL (1/31) thous. of net tons 2,251 2,221 # 11.7

AUTOS (1/31) units 117,370 99,815 r# -5.9

TRUCKS (1/31) units 137,596 112,703 r# 5.1

ELECTRIC POWER (1/31)

millions of kilowatt-hrs. 65,547 65,198 # -0.8

CRUDE-OIL REFINING (1/31)

thous. of bbl./day 14,060 14,166 # 2.5

COAL (1/24) thous. of net tons 23,543 # 22,773 13.3

LUMBER (1/24) millions of ft. 485.8 # 441.4 -0.3

RAIL FREIGHT (1/24)

billions of ton-miles 28.0 # 27.6 7.7

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 (1/30) S&P 500 980.28 957.59 24.7

CORPORATE BOND YIELD, Aaa (1/30) 6.70 % 6.67 % -10.4

INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS PRICES (1/30) 96.5 96.5 -10.6

MONEY SUPPLY, M2 (1/19) billions $4,045.2 $4,026.9 r 5.2

INITIAL CLAIMS, UNEMPLOYMENT (1/24) thous. 300 327 r -9.6

MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS, PURCHASE (1/30) 253.8 313.4 43.7

MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS, REFINANCE (1/30) 2,038.6 3,093.3 502.4

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

Federal Reserve, Labor Dept., Mortgage Bankers Assn. (Index: March 16,

1990=100)

PRICES

LATEST WEEK YEARLY

WEEK AGO % CHG

GOLD (2/4) $/troy oz. 298.150 300.000 -13.2

STEEL SCRAP (2/3) #1 heavy, $/ton 145.50 145.50 11.1

COPPER (1/30) cents/lb. 76.0 80.6 -31.6

ALUMINUM (1/30) cents/lb. 73.5 72.5 -5.5

COTTON (1/30) strict

low middling 1-1/16 in., cents/lb. 62.30 62.17 -12.6

OIL (2/3) $/bbl. 16.24 16.78 -31.2

CRB FOODSTUFFS (2/3) 1967=100 227.20 227.11 -3.0

CRB RAW INDUSTRIALS (2/3) 1967=100 296.79 300.31 -12.8

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 (2/4) 123.75 125.23 123.37

GERMAN MARK (2/4) 1.80 1.81 1.65

BRITISH POUND (2/4) 1.66 1.64 1.64

FRENCH FRANC (2/4) 6.05 6.06 5.56

ITALIAN LIRA (2/4) 1779.5 1784.5 1622.7

CANADIAN DOLLAR (2/4) 1.45 1.46 1.34

MEXICAN PESO (2/4)3 8.419 8.368 7.820

TRADE-WEIGHTED DOLLAR INDEX (2/4) 108.8 109.5 103.2

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 (2/3) 5.47 % 5.52 % 5.18 %

COMMERCIAL PAPER (2/3) 3-month 5.44 5.43 5.43

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT (2/4) 3-month 5.54 5.55 5.40

FIXED MORTGAGE (1/30) 30-year 7.25 7.11 8.05

ADJUSTABLE MORTGAGE (1/30) one-year 5.73 5.64 5.83

PRIME (1/30) 8.50 8.50 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. 3=Free market value NA=Not available r=revised

NM=Not meaningful