DETROIT, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Michigan Business Activity Index compiled by Comerica Bank increased 3 points in June to 107 and is at its highest level since August 2006 when it was 110. For the first half of 2007, the index has averaged 103.8, which is only 0.4 percent below the 104.3 average for all of 2006.
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"Our index got a big boost from steel production in June and may be overstating the degree to which the state economy is improving," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "Even so, I am impressed by the fact that our index has fluctuated in a higher range for five consecutive months. I won't be comfortable that the state economy has bottomed until I see some clear improvement in the jobs data, but the local economy is showing more signs of stabilizing."
The Michigan Business Activity Index (MBAI) represents ten different measures of Michigan economic activity compiled monthly by the Economics Department of Comerica Bank. The MBAI is seasonally adjusted, corrected for inflation, and expressed as an index, with 1996 as base year equal to 100. The MBAI series has been calculated monthly since 1957 and depicts state economic activity over seven full swings of the U.S. business cycle.
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people to be successful.
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Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGOSOURCE: Comerica Bank
CONTACT: Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist,
Comerica Bank, +1-734-930-2401, or +1-800-895-7708
Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
