Archive for May, 2014
Monday, May 26th, 2014
- April existing home sales increased 1.3% to an annualized rate of 4,650 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $201.7 thousand, 5.2% above April 2013.
- April new home sales increased 6.4% to an annualized rate of 433 thousand units. The median sales price of new houses sold was 1.3% below April 2013.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 22nd showed average fixed mortgage rates moving lower for the fourth consecutive week.
- Mortgage applications increased 0.9% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 16th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 28 thousand to 326 thousand in the week ending May 17.
- The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.4% in April, while the coincident index increased 0.1%.
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Monday, May 19th, 2014
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales increased 0.1% in April, following a 1.5% increase in the previous month. Excluding autos, retail and food services sales held steady in April.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for March were up 0.8%, while inventories were up 0.4%.
- Total Industrial production decreased 0.6% in April, following a 0.9% increase in the previous month. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 78.6%, down from 79.3% in March.
- Housing starts in April were up 13.2% from the previous month, and were up 26.4% from a year ago.
- The housing market index of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo decreased a point to 45 in May.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 15th showed average fixed mortgage rates easing for the third consecutive week and remain at a six month low.
- Mortgage applications increased 3.6% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 9th.
- The federal government budget ran a surplus of $106.9 billion in April, after a deficit of $36.9 billion in the previous month.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 24 thousand to 297 thousand in the week ending May 10.
- The consumer price index (headline index) rose 0.3% in April, while the core index increased 0.2%. The consumer price index increased 2.0% for the 12-month period ending in April, while the core index rose 1.0%.
- The producer price index for final demand (headline index) increased 0.6% in April, while the core index increased 0.5%. The producer price index for final demand increased 2.1% from April 2013, while the core index increased 1.9%
- The import price index decreased 0.4% in April, while the export price index decreased 1.0%.The import price index decreased 0.3% from April 2013, while export prices increased 0.1%.
- The May 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity surged for New York manufacturers.
- The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey for May reported strong growth in manufacturing activity.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary, decreased to 81.8 in early May, from 84.1 in April.
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Monday, May 12th, 2014
- Sales of merchant wholesalers in March were up 1.4% from the previous month, while inventories were up 1.1%.
- In March, international trade deficit was $40.5 billion, compared with a deficit of $41.9 billion in the previous month.
- March consumer credit outstanding increased to $17.5 billion, compared with $13.0 billion in the previous month.
- Productivity decreased 1.7% in the first quarter, following a 2.3% increase in the previous month. Unit labor costs rose 4.2%, following a decrease of 0.4% in the previous quarter. Productivity was up 1.4% from the first quarter of 2013, while unit labor costs were up 0.9%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 26 thousand to 319 thousand in the week ending May 3.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 8th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving down further.
- Mortgage applications increased 5.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending May 2nd.
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Monday, May 5th, 2014
- Total non-farm payroll employment increased 288 thousand in April, following an increase of 203 thousand in the previous month. Private-sector payrolls increased by 273 thousand in the month, while government employment increased by 15 thousand.
- The unemployment rate decreased to 6.3% in April, from 6.7% in March.
- The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held steady at 34.5 hours. Average hourly earnings held steady, following a 0.4% increase in February.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 14 thousand to 344 thousand in the week ending April 26th.
- Employment cost index rose 0.3% in the first quarter, after a 0.5% increase in the final quarter of 2013.
- Real GDP rose 0.1% in the first quarter, following a 2.6% increase in the previous quarter. The price index for domestic purchases increased 1.3%, following a 1.6% increase in the fourth quarter of 2013.
- Personal income rose 0.5% in March, while personal consumption expenditures rose 0.9%. The price index for personal consumption expenditures were up 0.2% from the previous month, and were up 1.1% from March 2013.
- Sales of domestic vehicles decreased to 12.8 million in April, while total vehicle sales decreased to 16.0 million.
- New orders for manufactured goods increased 1.1% in March, following an increase of 1.5% in the previous month.
- Construction spending rose 0.2% in March, following a 0.2% decrease in February.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of May 91st showed average fixed mortgage rates moving down slightly.
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