Philipp Maier
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pmaier1971.bsky.social
Philipp Maier
@pmaier1971.bsky.social

Economic data releases and news, automated with R.

Data from http://fred.stlouisfed.org.
Code/details: http://whyitmatters.netlify.app

All views and errors are mine.

Economics 82%
Engineering 7%

How's the UK doing since Brexit? Comparing the evolution of real GDP since the referendum, and since the actual withdrawal from the EU #brexit #uk #eu #econsky

Comparing The Economic Recovery Since the Outset of the Pandemic Across Major Industrialized Countries #econsky

EU GDP growth for 2025 Q4 came in at 1.3% y/y (or 0.3% q/q). Relative to pre-pandemic levels, EU GDP is now at 106.8% #gdp #eu #econsky

The U.S. Dollars to U.K. Pound Sterling Spot Exchange Rate stood at 1.3606 USD/GBP last week (06 February). Relative to a month ago, this is 1.4% higher. Relative to a year ago, the exchange rate has risen by 9.8% #exchangerate #gbp #usd #econsky

Last week (06 February) the U.S. Dollars to Euro Exchange Rate was 1.1812 USD/EUR. Relative to a month ago, this is an increase of approx. 1.5%. Relative to a year ago, the exchange rate is about 14.4% higher. #exchangerate #eur #usd #econsky

Average US 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage last week at 6.09%, down -0.02 p.p. from prior week. 5/1 ARM at 6.1% #mortgage #househunters #econsky

Existing #homeSales in Jan 2026 at 3910K units, down -8.4% q/q #econsky

Inventory of Existing Family Homes rose to 1.11 million units in Jan 2026. Given the current sales pace, it would take 3.8 months to sell this existing housing inventory, up from 3.3 #econsky

The IMF's Global Food Price index has fallen by -3.2% in Jan 2026, relative to last year #foodprices #commodities #econsky

Global prices for Natural Gas for the month of Jan 2026 averaged $11.99 per Million Metric British Thermal Units. Relative to the prior month, that's up $2.53 or 26.7% #naturalgas #commodities #econsky

Global Copper prices for the month of Jan 2026 averaged $12986.61 per metric ton. Relative to the prior month, that's up $1195.64 or 10.1% #commodities #copper #econsky

Update on prices for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG): The IMF's index for LNG prices in Asia in Jan 2026 came in at 10.44, which is an incease of 5.3%, relative to the prior month #energy #commodities #econsky

The IMF's Global Energy Price index for the month of Jan 2026 came in at 153.66, which is an incease of 4.28%, relative to the prior month #energy #commodities #econsky

Emerging Market Update: Longer-term view of currency movements since the start of the post-pandemic monetary tightening cycle. All currencies indexed to 100 on March 16 (date of the first Fed rate hike); latest data point is 06 Feb #fx #emergingmarkets #econsky

Longer-term view of Weekly Claims data. Relative to the peak during the pandemic, where the 4-week moving average of continued claims reached 21243K in the week of 16 May 2020, today's reading of 1846.75K continued is a decline of about -91% #claims #econsky

Weekly Initial Claims (first-time applications for unemployment benefits), a proxy for layoffs, decrease to 227K (down -5K from prior week); 4-week moving average of continued claims decrease from 1850K to 1846.8K in Feb 2026 #claims #econsky

Bitcoin at $67479.13; Ethereum at $1962.85. Bitcoin is about -29.1% down from a month ago, and about -29% down from a year ago. Ethereum is about -40.9% down from a month ago and about -27% down from a year ago. #crypto #econsky

Brent Crude oil prices for the month of Feb 2026 averaged $71.19 per barrel. Relative to the prior month, that's up $0.74 per barrel #oil #brent #econsky

High propensity business applications for Jan 2026 at 147.5K, up 10975K from prior month. These are business applications with a high-propensity of turning into businesses with payroll, based on the characteristics of the applications. #econsky

Visualizing currency movements of key US trading partners since the start of the post-pandemic monetary tightening cycle. All currencies indexed to 100 on March 16 (date of the first Fed rate hike); latest data point is 06 Feb #fx #econsky

Uncertainty Update: VIX at 17.79; 7-day average of the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index at 329.3, down -4.1 from the prior week #vix #MarketVolatility #econsky https://tinyurl.com/3bvx9f5m

Labor Force Flows: 6651K re-enter the labor force in Jan 2026, up 35K from prior month. 1695K unemployed exit the labor force in Jan 2026, down -45K from prior month #econsky

#Payroll Update: Details behind the topline number #LaborMarket #econsky

#Unemployment rate in Jan 2026 at 4.3%, down -0.1; participation rate (share of working age population in the labor force) at 62.5, up 0.1 from prior month #econsky

#Payroll Update: Comparing the current #Recovery of the #LaborMarket to previous recessions #econsky

Today's #WageData data reports average hourly earnings of $37.17. This represents an increase in average hourly earnings of 0.15 cents, relative to last month, and an increase of $1.33 or 3.7%, relative to the same month last year #econsky

Today's #Payroll data reports an increase in private sector employment of 130K jobs, up from 48K in Dec 2025 #econsky

Will #tariffs be hurting truckers? Truck transportation all employees Jan 2026 at 1462.6K, down -4.3K from prior month. #econsky

The Chicago Fed Financial Conditions Index in Feb 2026 came in at -0.56, up from -0.56 the prior month.Negative values indicate financial conditions that are looser than average. #econsky

On 06 Feb the Nominal Emerging Market USD Index stood at 128.1537. Relative to a month ago, this is approx. a decrease of -1.5%. Relative to a year ago, USD is about -7.19% lower. The index is weighted against a broad subset of emerging market currencies #exchangerates #econsky