Economy in Brief

New home sales during May gained 2.2% to 546,000 (AR) from 534,000 in April, initially reported as 517,000. It was the highest sales level since February 2008. The latest figure beat expectations for 520,000 sales in the Action [...]

New orders for durable goods declined 1.8% during May (-5.0% y/y) following a 1.5% April fall, earlier reported as -0.5%. Expectations were for a 0.5% dip in orders for total durable goods in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]

The EMU private sector advanced to 54.1 in June from 53.6 in May. EMU manufacturing ticked higher while EMU services made a more substantial gain. The services sector now has elevated to a rather strong 80th percentile standing in its [...]

Sales of existing homes increased 5.1% (+5.1% y/y) last month to 5.350 million from 5.090 million during April, revised from 5.040 million. Sales were the highest since November 2009 and stronger than consensus expectations for 5.25 [...]

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) during May notched up to -0.17 from -0.19 in April, revised from -0.15. The three-month moving average remained negative at -0.16, up from its low in March. [...]

Growth in average hourly earnings for U.S. workers has been fairly stable for the last several years, near 2%. Through last year, that translated into a roughly unchanged level of real earnings as consumer prices continued to rise. [...]

Italy's current account surplus is higher in April, rising to 4.79 billion euros from 3.46 billion euros in March. The surplus was last higher in February, but this is a very high surplus reading for Italy with February's value the [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index for June increased to 15.2 from an unrevised 6.7 in May. It was the highest level since December. Expectations averaged 8.0 in [...]