Gnosly

Exports grew 36.3% YoY and imports 31.0%, both well above expectations. CPI rose just 0.9%, below expectations, and core CPI held at 1.0%.

Oil is pushing up producer prices, but downstream firms are absorbing the cost. PPI rose 1.2% MoM as oil extraction prices jumped 14.5% and refined petroleum prices rose 7.4%. Mining prices climbed 25.4% YoY against 3.4% for processing industries, which means little of the cost is being passed on, and downstream margins stay under pressure.

Consumer prices show the same gap. Gasoline rose 16.6% YoY and added about 0.47 percentage points to CPI inflation, more than half the headline increase. Computer and mobile phone prices accelerated to 21.8% and 14.9%. Service prices fell 0.2% MoM after the summer travel season, and food prices rose just 0.4%, below seasonal norms. Price pressure is coming from costs, with little from domestic demand.

Exports are strong, but integrated circuits, automatic data-processing equipment and automobiles made up nearly half of January-September export growth. Integrated circuit export volumes rose just 3.8% while export values surged 108.1%, so higher prices drove much of the gain.

Oil raised import costs too. Crude oil import volumes fell 15.3% YoY in January-September while average prices rose around 18%, leaving import values up just 0.3%.

Source: urijip_dog (X)

Most Americans think that Donald Trump is profiting off the presidency either illegally or unethically, according to a new AP-NORC poll. The findings, published Tuesday, also illustrate that the President is perceived as prioritizing his business ventures above the country.

According to the poll, which surveyed 2,140 adults from Sept. 24 to 28, 4 in 10 respondents believe he has done something illegal and another 18% see his actions as unethical but not illegal.

A majority of respondents (56%) also said Trump has prioritized his personal business interests “a lot,” while only 23% said he has prioritized the country overall. Just 11% say he has prioritized “people like them,” while half of respondents said Trump has not prioritized people like them at all.

Republicans were much more likely than Democrats or Independents to say that the president prioritized the country overall; however, they were not without criticism. Only about 1 in 10 Republicans said Trump had done something illegal; most said he had done nothing wrong or that they did not know enough to judge.