USA Housing starts decreased 11.3% to 1,283K in August, a sharper decline than expected by consensus (1,439K). Adding to the disappointment, the previous month’s result was revised down from 1,452K to 1,447K. The August print was the lowest since July 2019, excluding the pandemic. The single-family (-4.3% to 941K) and the multi-unit (-26.3% to 342K) segments [...]
USA The Consumer Price Index rose a consensus-matching 0.6% in August. Prices in the energy segment shot up 5.6% on gains for gasoline (+10.6%) and fuel oil (+9.1%). The cost of food, meanwhile, advanced 0.2%. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, progressed 0.3%, overshooting the +0.2% print expected by economists. Prices for ex-energy services [...]
USA The ISM Services Index bested consensus expectations and rose to 54.5, hitting the highest reading since February. The monthly upturn highlights ongoing strength in the service sector, which has shown little indication of slowing in response to higher interest rates. The headline index briefly fell into contraction—a reading below 50—in December 2022, but quickly rebounded [...]
USA Nonfarm payrolls rose 187K in August, a bit more than the median economist forecast calling for a +170K print. However, this positive surprise was held back by a -110K cumulative revision to the previous month’s data. Employment in the goods sector advanced 36K as gains in construction (+22K) and manufacturing (+16K) were only partially offset [...]
