Purchasing managers report manufacturing activity slowed for a fifth straight month. Here are the five things we learned from U.S. economic data released during the week ending January 3.
A measure of economic activity in manufacturing fell to a more than ten-year low in December. The PMI, the headline index from the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Report on Business, shed 9/10ths of a point to a reading of 47.2. This reading was the PMI’s lowest point since June 2009 and its fifth straight month under 50.0 (the threshold between an expanding and contracting manufacturing sector). Three of five PMI components fell during the month: production (-5.9 points), employment (-1.5 points), and new orders (-0.4 points). PMI components tied to supplier deliveries (+2.6 points) and inventories (+1.0 point) each climbed. Only three manufacturing industries expanded in December: food/beverage/tobacco, miscellaneous manufacturing, and computer/electronic products. The press release noted that “global trade” remained a key focus area for many manufacturers and that sentiment was “marginally positive regarding near-term growth.”
Construction spending grew in November. The Census Bureau places the seasonally adjusted annualized value of construction put into place during the month at $1.324 trillion, up 0.6 percent from October and 4.1 percent from a year earlier. Despite November’s gain, construction spending during the first 11 months of 2019 was 0.8 percent under that of the first 11 months of 2018. The Census Bureau also revised estimates for September and October spending upwards. Private sector expenditures grew 0.4 percent to $985.5 billion (+1.6 percent), including a 1.9 percent bounce in private sector residential spending. Private nonresidential spending fell 1.2 percent. Public sector construction expenditures gained 0.9 percent to $338.6 billion, up 12.4 percent from a year earlier.
The Conference Board finds that consumer sentiment “dipped” slightly in December. The Consumer Confidence Index slipped by 3/10ths of a point to a seasonally adjusted reading of 126.5. The present conditions index added 3.4 points to 170.0, while the expectations index lost 2.9 points to 97.4. 38.7 percent of survey respondents said that business conditions were “good” while only 11.1 saw them as being “bad.” An even higher percentage of Americans see jobs as being “plentiful” (47.0 percent) versus being “hard to get” (13.1 percent). The press release cautioned that “there is little to suggest that growth, and in particular consumer spending, will gain momentum in 2020.”
Pending home sales rebounded in November. The National Association of Realtors’ measure of home purchase contract signings increased 1.2 percent during the month to a seasonally adjusted 108.5 (2001=100). The index jumped 5.5 percent in the West and gained 1.0 percent in the Midwest but edged down in both the South (-0.2 percent) and Northeast (-0.1 percent). The Pending Home Sales Index was 7.4 percent ahead of its year-ago reading with positive 12-month comparables in all four Census regions, including a 14.0 percent jump in the West. The press release noted November’s increase occurred despite “insufficient level of inventory” of homes for sale.
Two reports find home prices rose at a moderate pace in October. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent during the month. The measure, which tracks prices of homes purchased with a conforming mortgage, gained in six of nine Census regions, led by the West South Central (+0.7 percent), East South Central (+0.7 percent), Pacific (+0.6 percent), and Middle Atlantic (+0.6 percent). Over the past year, the Housing Price Index has risen 5.0 percent, with the largest 12-month comparables in the Mountain (+6.7 percent), South Atlantic (+6.1 percent), and East South Central (+5.8 percent) regions.
The 20-City Case-Shiller Home Price Index grew 0.4 percent (seasonally adjusted) in October, up from a 0.3 percent bump in September. The measure grew in 18 of the 20 tracked cities, with home prices rising 0.7 percent in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The index has risen 2.2 percent over the past year, with positive year-to-year comparables in 19 of 20 cities (San Francisco being the exception). The press release characterized the home price data as “reassuring.”
Other U.S. economic data released over the past week:
– Jobless Claims (week ending December 28, 2019, First-Time Claims, seasonally adjusted): 222,000 (-2,000 vs. previous week; -9,000 vs. the same week a year earlier). 4-week moving average: 233,250 (-5.2% vs. the same week a year earlier).
– FOMC Minutes
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What We Learned About the U.S. Economy Last Week 