Written on: November 29, 2019 by SprayTM
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB) was stable in November on a three-month moving average following a 0.3% decline in October. On a year-over-year basis, the barometer was down 0.2%.
Unadjusted data shows a 0.6% gain driven by increases in all four indicators (production, equity prices, product prices and inventories). The diffusion index rose to 59% in November, ACC said.
“The CAB signals slow gains in U.S. commerce into mid-year 2020,” noted Kevin Swift, Chief Economist at ACC.
According to CAB, production-related indicators improved in November. Trends in construction-related resins, pigments and related performance chemistry were slightly positive due to slow gains in housing activity. Plastic resins used in packaging and for consumer and institutional applications were mixed, despite strong consumer spending. Performance chemistry eased and U.S. exports were weak. Equity prices rose sharply in November, and product and input prices gained as well. Inventory and other indicators were positive, ACC said.
For the full CAB dataset, visit https://www.americanchemistry.com/CAB-vs-Industrial-Production/.
