U.S. Economic News
December 23, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
New orders of manufactured durable goods fell 2.0% in November after rising 0.2% (revised) in October and are down 1.3% compared to a year ago. Excluding transportation, new orders were unchanged last month (up 0.4% from last year). Census Bureau Report
New home sales rose 1.3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 719,000 and are up 16.9% from November 2018. The median sales price rose to $330,800, while the inventory of new homes edged down to 5.4 months at the current sales rate. Census Bureau Report
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose from -0.76 (revised) in October to +0.56 in November. Production- and employment-related indicators made positive contributions to the index, while the personal consumption & housing and sales, orders, & inventories categories made negative contributions. Chicago Fed Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that China has announced it will reduce tariffs on imports of frozen pork, pharmaceuticals, and certain high-tech components starting January 1 as Beijing and Washington work to complete a phase-one trade agreement. The plan will reduce import levies on more than 8,000 products from 23 countries and regions that have free-trade agreements with China, paving the way for China to import more U.S. goods without violating international trade rules banning managed trade. WSJ