Economic data flow takes a turn for the better

On Thursday, the euro area reported better loan growth in July. From Bloomberg:

Loans to households and companies in Europe grew at the fastest pace in 13 months in July after the economic recovery gathered steam.

Loans to the private sector rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier after growing an annual 0.5 percent in June, the European Central Bank in Frankfurt said today. That’s the strongest increase since June 2009. M3 money supply, which the ECB uses as a gauge of future inflation, increased an annual 0.2 percent in July, the same rate recorded in the previous month.

US data on Thursday showed that jobless claims fell last week. Reuters reports:

New U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected last week but were too high to signal a shift in a weak labor market that is constraining economic growth...

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 473,000 last week, better than market expectations for a drop to 490,000...

The claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 62,000 to 4.46 million in the week ended August 14...

Separately, the number of U.S. homes headed for foreclosure fell in the second quarter for the first time since the housing slump began in 2006, but improvements may be fleeting as the number of newly delinquent homeowners rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Today, we have Japan reporting that it remains stuck in deflation. From Bloomberg:

Japan’s consumer prices fell for a 17th month and household spending rose less than forecast, driving stocks lower on concern that the nation’s economic recovery is faltering.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food declined 1.1 percent in July from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today. Household spending rose 1.1 percent, lower than economists’ estimates for a 1.5 percent gain...

However, that is not stopping the job market from recovering.

Labor data were one of the few bright spots out of today’s reports. The economy added 210,000 jobs in July from a month earlier, the most since January, the government said. The job- to-applicant ratio rose to 0.53 in July, meaning there are 53 job openings for every 100 candidates, the most since March 2009, according to a separate report released today.