US Economy Overview 07/25

Despite large cuts to government spending and a global slowdown, U.S. economy has been holding pretty well. Consumer sector has been keeping momentum and there are finally some signs of an improvement in the labour market and manufacturing.
Anna Fedec | anna@tradingeconomics.com
7/25/2013 1:55:40 PM

 There are finally signs of a recovery in the labour market. Although in June jobless rate remained unchanged at 7.6 percent, the economy added 195 Thousands Jobs and the numbers for the previous two months were revised up.
In spite of the automatic spending cuts and an expiry of a payroll tax cuts, consumer sector remains strong. In June, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index surged to 81.4 from 74.3 the month before. In May, retail sales increased 0.6% mom and 3.7% yoy.
Manufacturing activity grew slightly in June as the ISM Purchasing Manager’s Index inched up to 50.9. In the same month, industrial production climbed 0.3 percent mom, the biggest advance since February. Also, in July the advanced Manufacturing PMI sponsored by Markit Economics rose to 53.2 from 51.9 in June and durable goods orders increased 4.2%.
There are some signs of deterioration in the housing market. In June, housing starts dropped 9.9 percent to 836K units and building permits fell 7.5 percent to a 911K units. Yet, in the same month new home sales rose more than forecast to 5-year high.




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