The pending home sales index fell by 2.3% to 116.7 in September after a strong gain of 8% in August, a sign of a modest pullback in home buying as some purchases are delayed until next year, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. But the market remains strong, and ... READ MORE >
Jobless claims hit pandemic low as labor market recovers
New filings for jobless claims dropped to another pandemic low last week as jobs remain plentiful while employers continue to compete for employees. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 281,000 for the week ending Oct. 23, according to government data released Thursday. The same figure ... READ MORE >
Goods trade deficit hit new low in September amid strong demand
The goods trade deficit set another record low in September at $96.3 billion as American demand remained strong, according to the Census Bureau advance report released Wednesday. The imbalance between the recovery rates in the United States and in other countries remained a heavy drag on the trade of ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Signs of strength in durable goods orders
Durable goods orders fell by 0.4% in September after a strong gain of 1.3% in August, driven by transportation orders—vehicles and nondefense aircrafts—which declined by 2.3% on the month, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. But even with this decline in transportation orders, ... READ MORE >
New home sales highest since March
New home sales increased by 14% in September to 800,000, the highest since March, indicating that strong demand for new houses continued to drive the market, according to Commerce Department data released on Tuesday. This was the biggest one-month percentage increase since July 2020, as the change in ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Rising consumer confidence
Consumer confidence increased in October, snapping a three-month decline, as concerns about the delta variant subsided. The headline Consumer Confidence Index rose to 113.8, up from 109.8 in September, as consumers expressed a more buoyant view of the economy, according to Conference Board data ... READ MORE >
Existing home sales rebounded in September to highest level since February
Sales of existing homes bounced back in September, with 6.29 million units sold, the highest level since February, and up 7% compared to the prior month, according to a report released on Thursday from the National Association of Realtors. The sales number was an upside surprise to earlier estimates of ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims fall for third straight week as labor shortage continues
New filings for unemployment benefits beat estimates with a decrease of 6,000 for the week ending Oct. 16, reaching 290,000 initial jobless claims. That’s the lowest level since March 14, 2020, according to a report from the Department of Labor on Thursday. As strong demand dominates the labor market ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: U.S. housing starts and permits slowed amid shortages
Housing starts and permits stayed below expectations in September, signaling a supply slowdown because of shortages of materials and labor. The headline figure for housing starts fell by 1.6% on the month to 1.555 million units annualized because of a drop in multifamily units while single-family ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: U.S. industrial production fell as Ida’s impact lingered
The impact of Hurricane Ida continued to be a drag on industrial production in September, accounting for a significant drop not only in mining but also in manufacturing output. Overall industrial production fell by 1.3% in September compared to August, with 0.6 percentage points of the drop resulting ... READ MORE >