News in end use

A closer look at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI), with a focus on the cost of construction materials and analysis by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that inputs to residential construction less energy rose 0.9%, not seasonally adjusted, in January.

Statistics Canada reported Friday that following two consecutive months of declines, the Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.4% month-over-month in January. The Raw Materials Price Index suffered its third consecutive monthly decline, moving 0.1% lower month-over-month.

The US Census Bureau reported on Thursday that privately‐owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,309,000. This is 4.5% below the revised December estimate of 1,371,000 and 21.4% below the January 2022 rate of 1,666,000.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending February 16th. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.32%, up from last week when it averaged 6.12%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 3.92%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand, seasonally adjusted, increased 0.7% in January 2023, following a 0.2% decline in December and a 0.3% increase in November.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 194,000 during the week ending on Saturday, February 11th. This is a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 195,000 (originally reported as 196,000).

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported today that the standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts for all areas in Canada declined 13% to 215,365 units in January, when compared to 248,296 units in December.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reported that builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes increased 7 points in February to a reading of 42. This marks the second consecutive month of gains and the strongest reading since September.

The Canadian Real Estate Association reported today that home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems were down 3% on a month-over-month basis. The decline wiped out all of December’s gains, and homes sales are back on the mild downward trend observed since last summer.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending February 10th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 7.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.