US Durable Goods, New Home Sales beat forecasts. UMichigan Survey improves. | Forex Blog | Currency Trading Blog

July 25, 2008 - Forex Economic News

US Durable Goods, New Home Sales beat forecasts. UMichigan Survey improves.

Economic news out of the U.S. today was better than expected as durable goods orders and new home sales data both increased more than forecasted for the month of June. The University of Michigan/Reuters consumer confidence survey was also released and improved from last month, capping off a positive day of U.S. economic data.

US Economic News - Forex BLog Durable goods orders increased by 0.8 percent in June according to the report released by the U.S. Commerce Department. New orders for durables increased by $1.6 billion to a total of $215.4 billion for the month. June's gain follows up a revised increase of 0.1 percent in May and surpassed market expectations which had forecasted that orders would drop by 0.3 percent in the month. New orders for durable goods, excluding transportation, gained by 2.0 percent in June beating market expectations that predicted a decrease of 0.2 percent. Durable goods are products manufactured in the U.S. and generally considered to last more than three years.

New Home Sales in the U.S. also beat market expectations today but just missed surpassing May's revised sales total. The new home sales data, released by the Department of Commerce, fell by 0.6 percent in June for an annual rate of 530,000 sales, falling short of May's revised total of 533,000 sales. Market forecasts had expected that new home sales would decrease by 1.8 percent for a total 503,000 annual sales rate. June's annual sales rate when compared to June 2007 has declined by 33.2 percent. The median sales price of new homes equaled $230,900 in June which is an increase from a median sales price of $227,700 in May. The average sales price came in at $298,600 for June which is virtually unchanged from May's average price of $298,900.

UMichigan/Reuters Consumer Sentiment Survey improves in July.

The consumer sentiment survey conducted by the University of Michigan and Reuters increased this month from one of the lowest levels on record in June. The finalized consumer sentiment index for July increased to a 61.2 score after a score of 56.4 in June which was the lowest reading registered by the survey since April of 1980. The July sentiment index beat market forecasts which were expecting the score to register at 56.3. The index of consumer expectations increased from 49.2 in June to 53.5 in July.

Despite the increase in July sentiment, the report continued to show the strain the consumer is feeling as nine out of ten surveyed believe the economy is in a recession and more than 50 percent of consumers surveyed felt they are worse off financially now as prices for food and gasoline have risen. Richard Curtin, Director of the Reuters/UMichigan Surveys of Consumers, commented on the state of the consumer in the report, "The appraisals of consumers of their own finances as well as conditions in the national economy remained very negative," and that, "even after the small July gain, the overall level of consumer confidence is dismal and still points toward declines in the pace of spending in late 2008 and early 2009."

The U.S. dollar was generally stronger in forex trading today as the "buck" has been making gains against the Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and Mexican peso while being mixed verses the other major currencies.

USD/JPY - The dollar gaining against the Japanese yen in forex trading today(4 hour chart).

usd/jpy - forex market.

tags: durable goods, orders, new home sales, us economy, consumer confidence

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