DJ-BTMU Barometer Continues Zig-Zag Pattern

By Kathleen Madigan

The Dow Jones-Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi-UFJ weekly business barometer remains volatile, skewed by chain-store sales, according to data released Thursday.

The barometer bounced back 0.7% in the week ended February 16 after a revised 0.8% drop, first reported as 0.7%, in the prior week.

The latest index was up 0.8% from its year-ago reading.

A statistically smoothed version of the index was unchanged for the second consecutive week. The February 9 smoothed index was first reported as slipping 0.1%.

The index has posted large gains and drops in the past four week. Much of the volatility reflects changes in real chain store sales. In the latest week, store sales jumped 2.7% after plunging 2.5% in the prior week.

The DJ-BTMU barometer is a weighted, 10-component index designed as a coincident measure of overall economic activity. In the February 16 week, seven components increased and three decreased. Along with the sales gain, a 3.5% jump in lumber production led the gainers. A 1.3% drop in auto output led the decliners.

A separate DJ-BTMU index of production trends, which is drawn from the six production-related components and which is statistically indexed to the Federal Reserve's industrial production index, rose 0.3% after falling an unrevised 0.1% in the prior week.

For the full report and revisions, please see: https://reports.us.bk.mufg.jp/portal/site

Write to Kathleen Madigan at kathleen.madigan@dowjones.com

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  02-28-131014ET
  Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.