Dow recovered 502, advancers over decliners about 5-1 & NAZ shot up 194. The MLP index gained 3+ to 185 & the REIT index jumped 4+ to 418. Junk bond funds rose & Treasuries were being purchased. Oil dropped 1+ to the 64s & gold was off 1 to 1821.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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Producer prices rose in Apr at the fastest annual pace on record as the reopening of the US economy from COVID-19 lockdowns continued to gain momentum. The
producer price index (PPI) for final demand last month rose at a 6.2% annual
pace, quickening from Mar's 4.2% increase, the Labor Dept said. The Apr reading made for the biggest annual jump since
recordkeeping began in 2010. On a monthly basis, prices jumped
0.6%, slowing from last month's 1.0% increase. The annual data has a "base effects" skew due to the price decline that occurred at the onset of the pandemic. The forecast called for prices to increase 5.9% year over year & 0.3% from Mar. Half
of the increase in Apr was due to the 0.5% rise in the index for
final demand services less trade, transportation & warehousing. Meanwhile, prices for final demand goods climbed 0.6%, slowing from the
1.7% advance last month. Prices for steel mill products surged
18.4% while beef & veal, pork, residential natural gas, plastic resins & materials, & dairy products also saw increases. Gasoline prices
slid 3.4% as prices for chicken eggs & for carbon steel scrap also
declined. Core prices, which exclude the volatility from food &
energy, rose 0.7% month over month & 4.1% year over year. The forecast expected increases of 0.4% & 3.7%, respectively. The Apr PPI report comes a day after the Labor Dept said the
consumer price index last month rose 4.2%. Prices rose 0.8% month over
month, quickening from a 0.6% increase the prior month.
Producer prices post biggest annual increase on record
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell to a fresh pandemic low of 473K following last week's 498K. The number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment
benefits ticked modestly higher to 3.66M vs 3.65M in the
prior week. Still, many workers remain on the sidelines,
continuing to reap the benefits of the ongoing stimulus payments on pace
to continue thru Sep for many. There
are a record 8.1M job openings in the US. according to the
Labor Dept's Job Openings &Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
Jobless claims fall to fresh pandemic low
Gas prices have jumped more than 8¢ in the last week as the Colonial Pipeline shutdown disrupted a crucial artery in the US petroleum industry. The company said it began to restart operations last evening & added today that “product delivery has commenced in a majority” of markets. Colonial Pipeline is aiming to restore service to all of its markets by mid-day. The majority of the pipeline had been shut since Fri after the company fell victim to a cyberattack. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said today that the restart “went well overnight.” “This should mean things will return to normal by the end of the weekend,” she added. The national average cost for a gallon of gas stood at $3.028 per gallon yesterday, up from $2.941 one week ago, according to data from AAA. The pipeline’s shutdown sparked fears of gasoline shortages in the Southeast, prompting consumers to rush to the pump. In turn, this caused widespread outages & drove prices higher. Gas prices in Georgia have jumped 25¢ in the last week, 19¢ in South Carolina, 17¢ in North Carolina & 16¢ in Virginia. While the pipeline gets back up & running, gas outages continue to hit the Southeast. More than ½ of stations across South Carolina, North Carolina & Virginia are without fuel, according to the latest data from GasBuddy.
National gas average tops $3.02 a gallon as hacked pipeline slowly restarts
After heavy selling this week, bargain hunters have returned to buy stocks. The jobless claims data data was bland, providing no significant new news on the economic recovery. But higher inflation will be out there for some time. Quibbling about details for a few numbers means little, To put it simply, the prices of many common products that consumers purchase have shot up this year & that will put a damper on the economic recovery.
Dow Jones Industrials
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