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).
Of all economic news last week, perhaps the most intriguing are the jobless claims and GDP reports. Jobless claims fell to the lowest level since 1961, and GDP for the first quarter of 2018 slipped on consumer spending weakness.
Economic highlights from last week included:
Last week’s economic news was slightly disappointing, as a number of indicators missed estimates, though jobless claims fell to a 45-year low. Still, given the higher than usual number of states estimating claims, the jobless claims number is a rough estimate.
The general tone of economic data released last week signals increasing confidence among both consumers and businesses.
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