A larger jump in retail sales proved to be one of very few optimistic highlights in last week’s economic news. The week entailed mostly negative news, as housing starts increased less than expected, the Philly Fed’s Manufacturing Index slipped significantly, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell unexpectedly.
Last Monday, the Institute for Supply Management released their monthly manufacturing report, showing strong gains, despite industry disruption. On Tuesday, U.S. automakers released their monthly auto sales reports, all showing gains from the year before. Finally, on Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor released the monthly jobs report, which beat analyst expectations on job growth, while unemployment rose slightly.
Last week, consumer confidence (slightly below expectations) and consumer sentiment (up slightly) measures were released by the Conference Board. These readings provided an indication of whether citizens have enough faith in the economy to make a big purchase. Also, the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index (down slightly) gave a reading on manufacturing and industrial economic performance throughout the Western Great Plains. Lastly, the Mortgage Bankers Association released their weekly Mortgage Applications Survey (down).
Last week’s economic news was largely mixed, as home building saw strength in starts but weakness in permits, while the manufacturing sector showed signs of slowing (but still expanding) in purchasing activity, and manufacturing services saw continued growth in activity.
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