The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® decreased in February for the second consecutive month. The Index now stands at 102.9 (1985=100), down from 106.0 in January (a downward revision). The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—increased to 152.8 (1985=100) from 151.1 ...

Fifth District manufacturing firms reported deterioration in business conditions in February, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index decreased from −11 in January to -16 in February. Of its three component indexes, shipments saw the largest change, declining notably from ...

The Chicago Business BarometerTM, produced with MNI, declined by a further 0.7 points in February to 43.6, the lowest since November ’22. The headline index signalled a sixth consecutive month of contractionary business activity.

Production, Employment and Prices Paid indicators declined over the month in February, with Production recording the steepest deterioration. New Orders, Order Backlogs, and Supplier Deliveries increased, whilst the Inventories subcomponent was little changed. All indicators ...

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Data released today for December 2022 show that home price gains continued to drop across the United States with declining prices reported in the San Francisco and ...

Texas factory activity declined in February for the first time since May 2020, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, edged down from 0.2 to -2.8, a reading suggestive of a modest contraction ...

Pending home sales improved in January for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. All four U.S. regions posted monthly gains but saw year-over-year drops in transactions.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) — a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings — improved 8.1% to 82.5 in January. Year-over-year, pending transactions dropped by 24.1%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. ...

New Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in January, down two of the last three months, decreased $13.0 billion or 4.5 percent to $272.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This followed a 5.1 percent December increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.7 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased ...

New Home Sales
Sales of new single‐family houses in January 2023 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 670,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 7.2 percent (±20.4 percent)* above the revised December rate of 625,000, but is 19.4 ...

Consumer sentiment lifted for the third straight month in February, rising a modest 3% above January, supported by a 12% improvement in consumers’ outlook over the economy for the year ahead, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

However, sentiment remains well below its historical average; in spite of the recent slowdown in inflation, overall prices are still painfully high for consumers and continue to be at the forefront of their minds, said U-M economist Joanne Hsu, director of the surveys. ...

Personal income increased $131.1 billion (0.6 percent) in January, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (tables 3 and 5). Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $387.4 billion (2.0 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $312.5 billion ...

Tenth District manufacturing activity was flat, and expectations for future activity were modest. Monthly and annual survey price indexes continued to increase slightly, and expectations for future raw material and finished goods prices also rose.

The month-over-month composite index was 0 in February, up slightly from -1 in January and -4 in December. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. The pace of factory was ...

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 (table 1), according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.2 percent.

The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.9 percent. The updated estimates primarily reflected a downward revision to ...

In the week ending February 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 192,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 194,000 to 195,000. The 4-week moving average was 191,250, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. ...

Led by improvements in production-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to +0.23 in January from –0.46 in December. Three of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index made positive contributions in January, and three categories improved from December. The index’s three-month ...

Mortgage applications decreased 13.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 17, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 13.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 2 ...

Existing-home sales fell for the twelfth straight month in January, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Month-over-month sales were mixed among the four major U.S. regions, as the South and West registered increases, while the East and Midwest experienced declines. All regions recorded ...

Nonmanufacturing business activity continued to expand overall this month, according to the firms responding to the February Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The index for general activity at the firm level increased, and the indexes for new orders and sales/revenues remained positive but declined. The indexes for full- and ...

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. fell by 0.3 percent in January 2023 to 110.3 (2016=100), following a decline of 0.8 percent in December. The LEI is now down 3.6 percent over the six-month period between July 2022 and January 2023—a steeper rate of decline than its 2.4 percent contraction over the previous ...

U.S. import prices decreased 0.2 percent in January following a revised 0.1-percent drop the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Lower fuel prices in January more than offset higher nonfuel prices. In contrast, prices for U.S. exports advanced 0.8 percent in January, after falling 3.2 percent ...

The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.7 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices declined 0.2 percent in December 2022 and advanced 0.3 percent in November. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand rose 6.0 percent for the 12 ...

Building Permits
Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,339,000. This is 0.1 percent above the revised December rate of 1,337,000, but is 27.3 percent below the January 2022 rate of 1,841,000. Single‐family authorizations in January were at a rate of 718,000; this ...

In the week ending February 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 194,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 196,000 to 195,000. The 4-week moving average was 189,500, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average. ...

Manufacturing activity in the region continued to decline, according to the firms responding to the February Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The general activity index declined further, the new orders index remained negative, and the shipments index remained positive but low. The employment index declined but remained positive, and ...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for December 2022. The sum total in December of all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows was a net TIC inflow of $28.6 billion. Of this, net foreign private inflows were $40.0 billion, and ...

The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for December, adjusted for seasonal and trading day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,819.0 billion, down 0.6 percent (±0.2 percent) from November 2022, but was up 6.4 percent (±0.3 percent) from ...

Two consecutive solid monthly gains for builder confidence, spurred in part by easing mortgage rates, signal that the housing market may be turning a corner even as builders continue to contend with high construction costs and building material supply chain logjams. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in ...

The Conference Board®−Lightcast® Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Index fell in January to 164.6 (July 2018=100), down from 167.2 in December. The 1.6 percent decline between December and January follows a 5.5 percent increase between November and December. Overall, the Index is down 3.9 percent from a ...

Industrial production was unchanged in January after falling 0.6 percent and 1.0 percent in November and December, respectively. In January, manufacturing output moved up 1.0 percent and mining output rose 2.0 percent following two months with substantial decreases for each sector. The output of utilities fell 9.9 percent in January, as a ...

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for January 2023, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $697.0 billion, up 3.0 percent (±0.5 percent) from the previous month, and up 6.4 percent (±0.7 percent) above January 2022. Total sales for the November 2022 ...

Business activity continued to decline in New York State, according to firms responding to the February 2023 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index climbed twenty-seven points but remained negative at -5.8. New orders declined modestly, while shipments held steady. Delivery times shortened, ...

Mortgage applications decreased 7.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 10, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 7.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 7 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 13 ...

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.5 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.1 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 6.4 percent before ...

All employees
Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.2 percent from December to January, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from an increase of 0.3 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All ...

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index increased 0.5 points in January to 90.3, remaining below the 49-year average of 98. Down six points from last month, 26% of owners reported inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business. Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months improved six ...

Consumer sentiment was essentially unchanged at 1.5 index points above January. Recent developments in the economy, both positive and negative, have led to mixed attitudes among consumers with little net change in February. After three consecutive months of increases, sentiment is now 6% above a year ago but still 14% below two years ago, prior ...

The outlook for the U.S. economy in 2023 looks somewhat better now than it did three months ago, according to 37 forecasters surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The forecasters predict the economy will expand at an annual rate of 0.6 percent this quarter and 1.0 percent in the second quarter of 2023, up from the ...

In the week ending February 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 196,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 183,000. The 4-week moving average was 189,250, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's unrevised average ...

December 2022 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading day differences but not for price changes, were $687.8 billion, virtually unchanged (±0.5 percent)* from the revised November level, but were up 7.3 percent (±0.7 percent) from the revised ...

Mortgage applications increased 7.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 3, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 7.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 8 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 18 ...

In 2022, consumer credit increased 7.8 percent, with revolving and nonrevolving credit increasing 14.8 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. During the fourth quarter, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.5 percent, while in December it increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of ...

The nation's international trade deficit in goods and services increased to $67.4 billion in December from $61.0 billion in November (revised), as exports decreased and imports increased. The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $67.4 billion in December, up ...

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) rose in January to 118.74, up from an upwardly revised 117.06 in December 2022. The Employment Trends Index is a leading composite index for employment. When the index increases, employment is likely to grow as well, and vice versa. Turning points in the index indicate that a turning point in ...

Economic activity in the services sector grew in January after contracting in December following 30 consecutive months of growth, with the Services PMI® registering 55.2 percent, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM® Report ...

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 517,000 in January, and the unemployment rate changed little at 3.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Employment also increased in government, ...

Summary
New orders for manufactured goods in December, up four of the last five months, increased $10.0 billion or 1.8 percent to $552.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 1.9 percent November decrease. Shipments, down two consecutive months, decreased $4.0 billion or 0.7 percent to $543.3 billion. This followed a ...

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 3.5 percent and hours worked increased 0.5 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the same quarter a year ago, ...

In the week ending January 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 183,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 186,000. The 4-week moving average was 191,750, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's unrevised average ...

U.S.-based employers announced 102,943 cuts in January, a 136% increase from the 43,651 cuts announced in December. It is 440% higher than the 19,064 cuts announced in the same month in 2022, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
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Recent indicators point to modest growth in spending and production. Job gains have been robust in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation has eased somewhat but remains elevated.

Russia's war against Ukraine is causing tremendous human and economic hardship and is contributing to elevated global uncertainty. The Committee is highly attentive to inflation risks. ...

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in January for the third consecutive month following a 28-month period of growth, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee: ...