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 [...]
USA Existing-home sales declined 2.2% in July to 4,070K (seasonally adjusted and annualized). Contract closings fell in both the single-family (-1.9% to 3,650K) and the condo (-4.5% to 420K) segments. Lower sales, combined with an increased number of homes available on the market (+3.7% to 1,110K), meant the inventory-to-sales ratio ticked up to 3.3. Despite increasing [...]
USA Retail sales advanced 0.7% in July, overshooting the +0.4% print expected by consensus. The prior month’s growth was revised up from +0.2% to +0.3%. Sales of motor vehicles and parts contributed negatively to the headline print as they eased 0.3% in the first month of Q3. Excluding autos, retail outlays rose a consensus-topping 1.0% as [...]
USA Nonfarm payrolls rose 187K in July, a bit less than the median economist forecast calling for a +200K print. This negative surprise was compounded by a -49K cumulative revision to the previous two months’ data. Employment in the goods sector advanced 18K as gains in construction (+19K) and mining/logging (+1K) were only partially offset by [...]
USA According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP expanded 2.4% annualized in the second quarter, more than the median economist forecast calling for a +1.8% print. YoY, economic output rose 2.6%. Domestic demand continued to grow at a healthy clip in the three months to June, supported by household consumption (+1.6% QoQ annualized), as [...]
USA Nonfarm payrolls rose 209K in June, less than the median economist forecast calling for a +230K print. This negative surprise was compounded by a -110K cumulative revision to the previous months’ data. Employment in the goods sector advanced 29K as gains in construction (+23K) and manufacturing (+7K) were only partially offset by a 1K decline [...]
USA Nominal personal income increased 0.3% in May, a bit more than the median economist forecast calling for a 0.2% gain. Amid a labour market that remains healthy, the wage/salary component of income progressed 0.3%, while income derived from government transfers advanced 0.3%. Personal current taxes, for their part, rose 0.2%. All this translated into a [...]
