DALLAS, Oct. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank's California Economic Activity Index declined in August, decreasing 1.2 percentage points to a level of 119.6. August's reading is 36 points, or 42 percent, above the index cyclical low of 84.1. The index averaged 113.7 points for all of 2014, seven and one-half points above the average for all of 2013. July's index reading was 120.8.
"Our California Economic Activity Index ticked down again in August, after a small decline in July. Six out of eight components were negative for the month, including the tech sector stock market index, state exports and housing starts. Much of the drag on the headline index came from factors originating outside of the state. U.S. stock market volatility increased in August with the sell-off in China. Also, the strong dollar is putting pressure on exports to international markets. House prices were neutral in August. Nonfarm payroll employment was the lone, but very important, positive contributor to our August index," said Robert Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "Year-over-year job growth in California, at 3.0 percent in August, remains about a percentage point stronger than the U.S. average."
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.
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SOURCE Comerica Bank
