Archive for April, 2014
Monday, April 28th, 2014
- March existing home sales decreased 0.2% to an annualized rate of 4,590 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $198.0 thousand, 5.4% above a year ago.
- March new home sales decreased 14.5% to an annualized rate of 384 thousand units. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $290.0 thousand, 12.6% above a year ago.
- U.S. House prices increased 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to February, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices rose 6.9%.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of April 24th showed average fixed mortgage rates increasing for the week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 3.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending April 18th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 24 thousand to 329 thousand in the week ending April 19.
- The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.8% in March, while the coincident index increased 0.2%.
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Sunday, April 20th, 2014
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales increased 1.1% in March, following a 0.7% increase in the previous month. Excluding autos, retail and food services sales were up 0.7% in March.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for February were up 0.8%, while inventories were up 0.4%.
- Total Industrial production increased 0.7% in March. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 79.2%.
- Housing starts in March were up 2.8% from the previous month, but were down 5.9% from a year ago.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of April 17th showed average fixed mortgage rates easing further for the second consecutive week.
- Mortgage applications increased 4.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending April 11th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 2 thousand to 304 thousand in the week ending April 12.
- The consumer price index (headline index) rose 0.2% in March, following a 0.1% in the previous month. The consumer price index increased 1.5% for the 12-month period ending in March, while the core index rose 1.6%.
- The March 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity was virtually flat.
- The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey for March reported growth in manufacturing activity.
- The FED’s “Beige Book” indicated that overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest or moderate pace.
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Monday, April 14th, 2014
- The federal government budget ran a deficit of $36.9 billion in March, after a deficit of $193.5 billion in the previous month.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 32 thousand to 300 thousand in the week ending April 5.
- The producer price index for final demand (headline index) increased 0.5% in March, while the core index increased 0.6%. The producer price index for final demand increased 1.4% from March 2013.
- The import price index rose 0.6% in March, while the export price index increased 0.8%. The import price index decreased 0.6% from March 2013, while export prices increased 0.2%.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of March 27th showed average fixed mortgage rates up a bit from last week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 1.6% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending April 4th.
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Monday, April 7th, 2014
- Total non-farm payroll employment increased 192 thousand in March, following an increase of 197 thousand in the previous month. Private-sector payrolls increased by 192 thousand in the month, while government employment was unchanged.
- The unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%.
- The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased 0.3 to 34.5 hours. Average hourly earnings were unchanged.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 6 thousand to 326 thousand in the week ending March 29.
- Sales of domestic vehicles increased 7.1%, while total vehicle sales increased 6.9%.
- In February, international trade deficit was $42.3 billion, compared with a deficit of $39.3 billion in January.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of April 3rd showed average fixed mortgage rates little changed from the previous week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 1.2% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending April 2nd.
- In March, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing survey results indicated growth in activity.
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