This Week: New home sales, GDP snapshot, consumer spending
Sep 25, 2022, 9:01 PM | Updated: 9:08 pm
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
HOUSING MARKET BELLWETHER
The Commerce Department releases its August tally of new U.S. home sales Tuesday.
Economists project that sales slowed again last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 495,000 homes. That would be the slowest pace since October 2015. New home sales were running at a rate of 511,000 homes in July. The housing market has cooled after a strong start to the year as sharply higher mortgage rates have made homeownership less affordable for many would-be buyers.
New home sales, seasonally adjusted annual rate, by month:
March 707,000
April 619,000
May 630,000
June 585,000
July 511,000
Aug. (est.) 495,000
Source: FactSet
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
The Commerce Department delivers its final snapshot of how the U.S. economy fared in the second quarter on Thursday.
Economists expect that the report will show the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrank by 0.6% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in the April-June period. That would follow a 1.6% GDP decline in the first quarter. The economy has been slowing under the pressure of rising interest rates as the Federal Reserve fights the highest inflation in decades.
GDP, seasonally adjusted annual rate, by quarter:
Q1 2021: 6.3
Q2 2021: 6.7
Q3 2021: 2.3
Q4 2021: 6.9
Q1 2022: -1.6
Q2 2022 (est.): -0.6
Source: FactSet
INFLATION BAROMETER
The Commerce Department serves up its latest data on U.S. consumer spending Friday.
The personal consumption expenditure price index rose 0.1% in July from a month earlier. That followed a 1% jump in June, the largest increase since September 2005. Economists predict the index rose 0.2% in August. The index is an important gauge of inflation for the Federal Reserve as it adjusts its interest rate policy.
Consumer spending, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:
March 1.2
April 0.4
May 0.5
June 1.0
July 0.1
Aug. (est.) 0.2
Source: FactSet
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