DALLAS, September 22, 2021 / PRNewswire / – The Texas Economic Activity Index from Comerica Bank rose in July to 125.6. The July index reading was 26.6% above the recent low of 99.2 set in june 2020. The index averaged 112.1 points for the whole of 2020, 13.5 points lower than the 2019 average. The June index reading was revised to 125.3.
Our Texas economic activity index rose a modest 0.2% in July after rising sharply to 1.9% in June. The index level in July, at 125.6, is slightly lower than the pre-COVID reading of 126.2 from February 2020. The index is now up for the fifth consecutive month, and for the twelfth month out of the last thirteen. In July, seven of the nine sub-components posted gains. These included non-farm employment, UI claims (reversed), housing starts, house prices, number of rigs, total state trade, and the state. occupation of hotels. Demand for industrial electricity and state tax revenues fell in July. Weak auto sales, held back by lack of dealer inventory, weigh on sales tax revenue for Texas and probably all the other states. New cases of COVID in Texas declined significantly after peaking in early September. We expect state enterprises to continue to operate without restriction until the end of the year. Crude oil prices have risen slightly since late August, driven in part by back-to-back storms that hit the coasts Texas and Louisiana. However, threats on the supply side go hand in hand with the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the potential slowdown in global demand for oil. The state’s rig count improved through mid-September. Higher prices for natural gas in the third quarter are contributing to the profitability of the state’s energy sector.
The Texas Economic Activity Index consists of nine variables, as follows: non-farm payroll employment, ongoing UI claims, housing starts, house price index, industrial electricity sales, Texas number of rotating platforms, total trade, hotel occupancy rate and tax revenue. All data is seasonally adjusted. Nominal values have been converted to constant dollar values. Total index levels are expressed in terms of three-month moving averages.
Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business lines: commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helps people and businesses succeed. In addition to Texas, the branches of Comerica Bank are located in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with selected companies operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica declared total assets of $ 88.4 billion To June 30, 2021.
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