Inflation, Home Sales, & More

Week in Review: Feb 26 - Mar 1

Lot of data this week, including new and pending home sales, the Fed’s favorite measure of inflation, personal income, spending, and saving, and more. If you haven’t already, check out Wednesday Links post (free for all subscribers)

Monday

New Home Sales

New home sales picked up slightly in January 2024 and are virtually unchanged from January 2023. New home inventory levels rose to the highest level since October 2022. While that might sound like good news for prospective home buyers, there are so few existing homes (which account for the majority of home sales) on the market that overall listing counts remain extremely low.

TSA Checkpoint Travel Numbers

The number of passengers screened by TSA was about 7% higher than in 2023 over the past week and remains healthy heading into spring.

Tuesday

Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index

This measure of consumer sentiment fell in February and was revised down for January, erasing what had seemed like a jump in confidence to start the year. Consumer sentiment remains significantly lower than it was before the pandemic.

Durable Goods Orders

Orders of durable goods (things that last at least three years) from U.S. manufacturers fell pretty sharply (about 6%) in January. That’s the biggest decline in almost 4 years, but the drop is largely due to a 59% decline in aircraft orders (thanks, Boeing). Excluding transportation, orders were still down 0.3%, but that’s a much more modest decline.

Gas Prices

Gas prices inched lower, ending a streak of five straight weekly increases. At $3.37/gallon, gas is still about $0.09 cheaper than it was one year ago. We still expect gas prices to rise over the next couple of months.

Diesel Prices

Diesel prices fell slightly but remain near the highest level since early December.

Wednesday

Mortgage Applications