Economy in Brief: 2019

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index decreased 7.3% (+6.8% y/y) during the week ending April 19. It was the third consecutive weekly drop. Applications to purchase a home fell 4.1% [...]

Japan's money supply is showing no change in its rate of growth across its various measures. The respective 12-month and three-month growth rates are nearly identical for M1, M2 and M3 although each aggregate weakens slightly over six [...]

New home sales increased 4.5% (3.0% y/y) during March to 692,000 (AR) following a rise to 662,000 in February, revised from 667,000. It was the highest level of sales since November 2017 and up from the low of 552,000 this past [...]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index for house purchases rose 0.3% in February following an unrevised 0.6% January increase. The 4.9% y/y increase was the weakest since early-2015, down from a 7.6% high early in 2018. [...]

Retail gasoline prices edged one penny higher last week to $2.84 per gallon last week (1.5% y/y). The uptick followed four months of strong increase. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline [...]

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell 4.9% (-5.4% y/y) during March to 5.210 million units (SAAR). The decline reversed half of February's strengthening to 5.480 million units, revised from [...]

Consumer and business confidence peaked in the mature portion of this cycle about 1.5 years ago. As the graphic shows, consumer and business confidence are not always embedded in the same cycle. But the big swings in each series [...]

New building activity has failed to garner strength this year. Total housing starts during March eased 0.3% (-14.2% y/y) to 1.139 million (SAAR) from 1.142 million during February, revised from 1.162 million. It was the lowest level [...]