Fundamentals Mixed with no Clear Signs.
Durable Goods Orders (April 2015)
– New Orders month/month -0.5%. Previous was +5.1%.
– Ex-transportation month/month +0.5%. Previous was +0.6%.
DGO have been weak lately. The gains in ex-trans for 2 months is a sign of hope.
FHFA House Price Index (March 2015)
– month/month +0.3%. Previous was +0.6%.
– year/year +5.2%. Previous was +5.3%.
These are prices for homes purchased with conforming loans. This data does not accurately represent what is happening because a lot of homes are purchased with all cash and in places such as the San Francisco Bay Area many buyers need Jumbo loans.
S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (March 2015)
– 20-city, seasonally adjusted, month/month +1.0%. Previous was +1.2%
– 20-city, not seasonally adjusted, month/month +0.9%. Previous was +0.5%
– 20-city, not seasonally adjusted year/year +5.0%. Previous was +5.0%.
These are prices for home in 20 specific metropolitan areas. Prices move so differently from one of these to another so as to make sense only on a macroeconomic level. Increasing prices encourage Housing Starts which are still well below where they should be.
PMI Services Flash (May 2015)
– Level 56.4. Previous was 57.8.
New Home Sales (April 2015)
– New Home Sales Seasonally adjusted, annualized 517,000. Previous was 484,000.
Some of this gain is due to weather related delays from the previous months. The only conclusion I would draw is that things are not getting worse.
Consumer Confidence (May 2015)
– Consumer Confidence 95.4. Previous was 94.3.
This is the metric from The Conference Board. It is supposed to forecast Consumer Spending.
Richmond Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index (May 2015)
– level change +3. Previous was -3.
This is a regional survey index.
Dallas Federal Reserve Manufacturing Survey (May 2015)
– Business Activity Index -20.8. Previous was -16.0
– Production Index -13.5. Previous was -4.7.
The home of the oil industry is Dallas. Last week there were 373 operating oil rigs in Texas. A year previous there were 889. This is a consequence of lower crude prices.