U.S. Economic News
January 28, 2020
U.S. Economic Indicators
New orders of manufactured durable goods rose 2.4% in December after falling 3.1% (revised) in November and are down 1.5% compared to a year ago. Excluding transportation, new orders declined 0.1% last month (up 0.3% from last year). Census Bureau Report
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose from 128.2 (revised) in December to 131.6 in January. The improvement was driven primarily by improvement in consumers’ assessment of the current job market and expectations for future job prospects. Conference Board Report
U.S. News
The New York Times reports that President Trump has announced plans to broaden tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to include products made with steel and aluminum inputs. Imports of certain steel- and aluminum-containing goods, which are not subject to the same tariffs as the unfinished metals, have risen notably since the original tariffs went into place, hurting domestic producers. NYT