Inflation, Optimism Readings, & More

Week in Review: July 8-12

This week was all about Thursday’s consumer price index data but also featured updates regarding consumer sentiment, small business optimism, and more.

Monday

TSA Checkpoint Travel Numbers

Another week, another record number of people flying in a single day, according to TSA data. Sunday, July 7, was the first time TSA ever screened more than 3 million passengers. That said, the one-week moving average of travel volumes is now just 3% above 2023 levels (which has a lot to do with the timing of July 4^th).

Tuesday

NFIB Small Business Optimism Index

Small business owner optimism increased to its highest level since December 2023, but remains pretty low. Owners point to inflation and rising compensation costs as their main reasons for pessimism.

Gas Prices

Gas prices increased for a fourth consecutive week, but are still down about $0.05/gallon over the past year.

Diesel Prices

Diesel prices rose to their highest level since the start of May, but are down nearly $0.80/gallon from the September peak.

Wednesday

Mortgage Applications

Mortgage applications declined again and won’t show meaningful improvement until rates comes down. We’ve said this before, but only because it’s true.

Thursday

Consumer Price Index (Inflation)