DALLAS, July 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank's California Economic Activity Index held steady in May, decreasing only 0.1 percentage points to a level of 106.6.  May's reading is 34 points, or 47 percent, above the index cyclical low of 72.6. The index averaged 101 points for all of 2012, three points above the average for all of 2011. April's index reading was revised slightly up from 106.6 to 106.7.

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"Our California Index was essentially unchanged in May after increasing through the first four months of 2013. A slightly cooler state economy in May is consistent with our expectation of weak real GDP growth for the entire U.S. economy in the second quarter of 2013," said Robert Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "Payroll employment leveled out for the state in April and May. Sales tax receipts also leveled out after surging early in the year. We expect to see stronger economic growth in the California economy through the second half of the year."

The California Economic Activity Index consists of eight variables, as follows: nonfarm payrolls, exports, sales tax revenues, hotel occupancy rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, building permits, Baker Hughes rotary rig count and the Silicon Valley 150 Index (SV150).  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 105 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