DALLAS, May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank's
California Economic Activity Index declined in March, decreasing
0.6 percentage points to a level of 118.8. March's reading is 35
points, or 42 percent, above the index cyclical low of 83.8. The
index averaged 113.7 points for all of 2014, seven and one-half
points above the average for all of 2013. February's index reading
was 119.4.
"Our California Economic Activity Index dipped in March after
holding steady in February. Losses were not broad-based. Four out
of the eight index components fell in March. They were state
exports, housing starts, defense spending, and the tech stock
index. Some of the weakness in the export data may be related to
the now-resolved labor issues at California ports. The most important component
of the index, payroll job growth, was positive in March," said
Robert Dye, Chief Economist at
Comerica Bank. "We expect our California Index to resume its upward
track soon, as the state economy expands through the summer."
The California Economic Activity Index consists of eight
variables, as follows: nonfarm payrolls, exports, hotel occupancy
rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, housing
starts, national defense spending, home prices, and the
NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index (NDXT). All data are seasonally
adjusted, as necessary, and indexed to a base year of 2008. Nominal
values have been converted to constant dollar values. Index levels
are expressed in terms of three-month moving averages.
Comerica Bank, with 103 banking centers in the key California markets of San Francisco and the East Bay, San Jose, Los
Angeles, Orange County,
San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, Santa
Cruz/Monterey, and the
Inland Empire, is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:
CMA). Comerica is a financial services company headquartered in
Dallas, Texas, and strategically
aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the
Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on
relationships and helping businesses and people be successful. To
find Comerica on Facebook, please visit
www.facebook.com/ComericaCares.
To subscribe to our publications or for questions, contact us at
ComericaEcon@comerica.com. Archives are available at
http://www.comerica.com/economics. Follow us on Twitter:
@Comerica_Econ.
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SOURCE Comerica Bank