Archive for July, 2014

Key Economic Indicators – July 28,2014

Monday, July 28th, 2014
  • Durable goods orders rose 0.7% in June, following a 1.0% decrease in the previous month. Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.8% in June.
  • June existing home sales increased 2.6% to an annualized rate of 5,040 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $223.3 thousand, 4.3% above June 2013.
  • U.S. House prices increased 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from April to May, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in May, U.S. prices rose 5.5%.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of July 24th showed average fixed mortgage rates largely flat for the week.
  • Mortgage applications increased 2.4% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending July 18th.
  • The consumer price index (headline index) rose 0.3% in July, while the core index increased 0.1%. The consumer price index increased 2.1% for the 12-month period ending in July, while the core index rose 1.9%.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 19 thousand to 284 thousand in the week ending July 19.
  • The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.3% in June, while the coincident index increased 0.2%.

Key Economic Indicators – July 21, 2014

Monday, July 21st, 2014
  • Advance estimates of retail and food services sales increased 0.2% in June, following a 0.5% increase in the previous month.
  • Total manufacturing and trade sales for May were up 0.4%, while inventories were up 0.5%.
  • Total Industrial production increased 0.2% in June. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 79.1%.
  • Housing starts decreased 9.3% in June, while building permits decreased 4.2%. The total number of starts was 893 thousand in June, up 7.5% from a year ago.
  • The housing market index of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo increased 4 points to 53 in July.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of July 17th showed average fixed mortgage rates decreasing slightly from the previous week.
  • Mortgage applications decreased 3.6% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending July 11th.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 3 thousand to 302 thousand in the week ending July 12.
  • The producer price index for final goods (headline index) increased 0.4% in June, while the core index increased 0.2%. The producer price index for final goods increased 1.9% from June 2013 to June 2014, while the core index increased 1.7%
  • The import price index increased 0.1% in June, while the export price index decreased 0.4%. The import price index increased 1.2% from June 2013, while export prices increased 0.2%.
  • The July 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity accelerated for New York manufacturers.
  • The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey for July reported growth in manufacturing activity.
  • The FED’s “Beige Book” indicated that overall economic activity continued to expand modestly across most regions and sectors.
  • The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary, decreased to 81.3 in early July.

Key Economic Indicators – July 14, 2014

Monday, July 14th, 2014
  • May consumer credit outstanding increased at an annual rate of 7.4%. Revolving credits increased at an annual rate of 2.5%, while non-revolving credits increased 9.3%.
  • The federal government budget ran a surplus of $70.5 billion in June, after a deficit of $130.0 billion in the previous month.
  • Wholesalers’ inventories rose 0.5% in May, while sales rose 0.7%.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 11 thousand to 304 thousand in the week ending July 5.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of July 10th showed average fixed mortgage rates little changed from the previous week.
  • Mortgage applications increased 1.9% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending July 4th.

Key Economic Indicators – July 7, 2014

Monday, July 7th, 2014
  • Total non-farm payroll employment increased 288 thousand in June, following an increase of 224 thousand in the previous month.   Private-sector payrolls increased by 262 thousand in the month, while government employment increased by 26 thousand.
  • The unemployment rate decreased to 6.1% in June, from 6.3% in May.
  • The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held steady at 34.5 hours. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2%.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 2 thousand to 315 thousand in the week ending June 28.
  • Sales of domestic cars increased to 13.5 million in June, while total light vehicle (cars and light trucks) sales increased to 17.0 million.
  • In May, international trade deficit was $44.4 billion, compared with a deficit of $47.0 billion in the previous month.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of July 3rd showed average fixed mortgage rates little changed from the previous week.
  • Mortgage applications decreased 0.2% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending June 27th.