Economic Update 07.27.09

On Monday, July 20, the Conference Board reported that its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.7% in June after a revised 1.3% gain in May.

It was the third straight monthly increase and an indication the recession might be nearing an end. Economists had expected an increase of 0.4%.

According to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index, retail sales rose 0.5% in the week ending July 18.

On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales decrease by 0.3%.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ending July 17 rose 2.8% to 528.9.

Purchase volume rose 1.3% to 262.1. Refinancing applications increased 4% to 2089.7. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 55.5% of total applications from 54.9% the previous week.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 30,000 to 554,000 in the week ending July 18. The figure was slightly higher than the 550,000 economists had forecast.

The number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits in the week ending July 11 decreased by 88,000 to 6.23 million, the lowest level since April.

The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 3.6% in June

to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units from a revised level of 4.72 million units in May. June marks the third consecutive monthly increase in existing home sales for the first time in five years, giving hope the housing crisis is ending.

Meanwhile, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. home prices rose 0.9% in May.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Housing Bounces Back? New Home Sales Soar (abcnews.go.com)
• Mortgage applications fall (money.cnn.com)
• Sharp jump in US new home sales (news.bbc.co.uk)

Bookmark to: