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August 3rd, 2011 5:43 PM

Reports on consumer confidence and sentiments offering mixed results. The Consumer Confidence Index was up for July increased to 59.5 for July from the June index of 57.6 (a baseline of 100 was set in 1985), according to to The Conference board, which released the July index last week. However the Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers data was down overall.

The survey's Consumer Sentiment Index was 63.7 for July, down from 71.5 in June and last July 2010's 67.8. The July loss was particularly pronounced in the Expectations Index, a component of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, which fell to 56.0 in July from 64.8 in June and last July's 62.3. The Current Conditions Index fell to 75.8 in July 2011 from 82.0 in June and last July's 76.5.

Spending plans were down for the month, according to the survey, which reported that favorable buying attitudes fell to 53 percent in July, down from 58 percent in June and 62 percent last July. When asked to explain their views, favorable references to vehicle prices were cited by less than half the number recorded last July.

Looking at the Conference Board's data, the Present Situation Index, which tracks how consumers feel about the current state of the economy', decreased to 35.7 from 36.6 in June, while the Expectations Index, which tracks how consumers think the economy will do in coming months, increased to 75.4 from 71.6 in June. Consumers that said business overall conditions were "good" decreased to 13.4 percent from 13.7 percent, while those claiming business conditions were "bad" increased to 39 percent from 38.4 percent.

In terms of jobs, consumers that said jobs were "hard to get" increased to 44.1 percent from 43.2 percent in June, while those stating jobs are "plentiful" remained unchanged at 5.1 percent. Consumers that expected more jobs in the next several months increased to 16.7 percent from 13.8 percent in June. That said, consumers that expected fewer jobs also increased to 21.8 percent from 20.7 percent in June.

Looking at actual job numbers, first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 398,000 for the week ending July 23, the Employment And Training Administration reported last week. This was a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised total of 422,000. The total number of insured unemployed workers dropped to 3,703,000 during the week ending July 16, a decrease of 17,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,720,000.

New home sales dropped in June, according to last week's release from the Census Bureau. Sales of new single-family homes dropped to an annual rate of 312,000, down 1 percent from May's revised rate of 315,000, but 1.6 percent over the June 2010 estimate of 307,000. The median sales price for new single-family homes in June was $235,200; and the average sales price was $269,000. In terms of inventory, there were 164,000 available at the end of June, which represents a supply of 6.3 months at the the June sales pace.

Looking at manufacturing, new orders for durable goods in June dropped $4 billion, or 2.1 percent to $192.0 billion, the Census Bureau reported last week. This followed an increase of 1.9 percent in May. Shipments of manufactured durable goods for June increased by $1 billion, or 0.5 percent to $196 billion. Unfilled orders for durable goods in June increased $2.1 billion, or 0.2 percent to $862.7 billion. Inventories of durable goods in June, increased $1.6 billion, or 0.4 percent to $357.2 billion.

This week, we can expect:

Tuesday — July car and truck sales from the car makers; June personal income and spending from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Wednesday — June factory orders from the Census Bureau.
Thursday — Initial jobless claims for the week ending July 30 from the Employment and Training Administration.
Friday — June consumer credit data from the Federal Reserve; July payrolls, earnings, average workweek and unemployment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Posted by Jamie Larkin, Mortgage Advisor on August 3rd, 2011 5:43 PMPost a Comment (0)

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