Weekly Market Wrap
12/24/2005
Economic news this week was
good. Inflation seems to be under control. On Tuesday, the
Producer Price Index (a measure of wholesale price changes)
fell 0.7%, the largest drop in thirty-one months and more
than twice the decrease analysts had expected.
Also on Tuesday, the Commerce
Department reported that new home construction in November
jumped 5.3% above October's numbers. The consensus forecast
was for only a 0.3% increase.
Energy prices fell, too. On
Friday, weather forecasts predicting warmer weather caused
natural-gas futures prices to fall 5%. Oil prices finished
lower for the week at $58.31 per barrel.
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