U.S. Economic Indicators

December 23, 2020

U.S. Economic Indicators

Initial jobless claims fell 89,000 to 803,000 last week. The four-week moving average increased 1,750 to 818,250. DOL Report

Real disposable personal income decreased 1.3% in November, while real personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased 0.4%. Both the PCE price index (up 1.1% Y/Y) and the core price index (up 1.4% Y/Y) were unchanged. BEA Report

New orders of manufactured durable goods rose 0.9% in November after increasing 1.8% (revised) in October. Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.4% last month after rising 1.9% the month before. Census Bureau Report

New home sales declined 11.0% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 841,000 but were up 20.8% above year-ago levels. The median sales price edged down to $335,300 and the inventory of new homes ticked up to 4.1 months at the current sales rate. Census Bureau Report

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose 3.8 points to 80.7 in the final December reading but is down 18.6 points from December of last year. The Index of Consumer Expectations rose 4.1 points to 74.6, while the Current Economic Conditions Index rose 3.0 points to 90.0. University of Michigan