Tuesday Rundown of U.S. Data Results
October 26, 2021
U.S. house price inflation remain high in August but not quite so torrid as in July. Compared to the prior month, the HPI rose 1.2% according to the Case-Shiller index of 20 metropolitan areas and 1.0% according the the FHFA index. The 12-month increase from the Case-Shiller survey was a 2-month low of 19.7%, down from 20.0% in July, and a 3-month low of 18.5% in the FHFA index, down from 19.2%.
The Conference Board consumer confidence index bounced above September’s 7-month low of 109.8 to a 2-month high of 113.8, thus avoiding the further deterioration that analysts had been expecting. The index crested in June at 128.9. Consumer confidence during October, according to a preliminary estimate of the U. Michigan survey had faltered, by contrast. At 71.4, that estimate was its second weakest level since the start of the pandemic. A revised U. Michigan/Reuters October figure will be reported at the end of this week.
New home sales jumped 14.0% on month in September to a 6-month high of 800k. The increase was sharper than projected, but September’s level was still 17.6% lower than in the same month a year earlier.
The monthly Richmond Fed survey of manufacturing activity in its district improved to a 3-month high in October, according to the composite index. At a reading of 12, however, it was not as strong as the pre-pandemic reading of 21 in February 2020, and remained 21 points below this year’s peak of 33 in April.
Copyright 2021, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: U.S. consumer confidence, U.S. house prices and new home sales
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