Existing Home Sales

April 18, 2024 . Existing home sales declined 4.3% in March to 4,190 thousand after having jumped 9.5% in February  Sales had been falling for almost two years as the combination of sharply higher mortgage rates and higher home prices took their toll   But with the...

Housing Starts

April 16, 2024 Housing starts plunged by 14.7% in March to 1,321 thousand after having risen 12.7% in February after having dropped by 12.2% in January.   Clearly, starts have been very volatile in recent months as cold and snowy weather has affected the outcome in...

Retail Sales

April 15, 2024 Retail sales rose 0.7% in March after climbing 0.9% in February and declining 0.9% in January.  It is true that the sales gains in February and March were robust and some economists are now suggesting that the next move by the Fed could be to raise...

Producer Price Index

April 11 2024 The Producer Price Index for final demand  includes producer prices for goods, as well as prices for construction, services, government purchases, and exports and covers over 75% of domestic production. Producer prices for final demand roe 0.2% in March...