U.S. Economic News
June 17, 2020
U.S. Economic Indicators
Privately-owned housing starts rose 4.3% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 974,000 (down 23.2% year-over-year). Housing permits rose 14.4% to a 1.22 million annual pace in May (down 8.8% from last year). Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
According to the Wall Street Journal, the International Energy Agency predicts that oil demand will experience a record rebound in 2021 of 5.7 million barrels a day as the global economy reopens. Despite a major contraction in oil demand due to the pandemic, production cuts have already helped stabilize the market and futures are up 25% over the past month. WSJ
The New York Times reports that the largest declines in consumer spending have come from the highest-earning quarter of Americans, which has important implications for many low-wage service sector employees who rely on spending by high-income consumers. While spending among poorer Americans has improved thanks to federal stimulus checks, service sector incomes are unlikely to recover until the public health crisis is resolved. NYT