News in end use

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 205,000 during the week ending on Saturday, January 7, 2023. This is a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 206,000 (originally reported as 204,000).

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending January 6, 2023, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

The National Federation of Independent Business, one of the largest small business associations in the US, reported on Tuesday its NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (SBOI) for December 2022. The December SBOI declined 2.1 points to a reading of 89.8.

The US Federal Reserve on Monday released its latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report. Consumer credit outstanding grew to 7.1% (SAAR) in November, after climbing 7.4% SAAR in October. Revolving debt—which consists primarily of credit card debt—increased at a 16.9% rate.

Peak North America USA, a provider of construction, installation, fabrication, and manufacturing services for the forest products industry, announced on Monday (1-9-23) a new $24 million project to open a facility in Mobile County’s Irvington community.

Fannie Mae on Monday reported its Home Purchase Sentiment Index® for December had increased 3.7 points to a reading of 61.0. The index, however, remains only slight above its all-time record low, which was set in October 2022.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) report, which analyzes data from the ICE Mortgage Technology, mortgage credit availability decreased in December. The index has declined in nine out of the past ten months.

Statistics Canada reported today that the total value of building permits in Canada jumped 14.1% in November to $11.0 billion (CAD), ending two consecutive months of declines. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), the total value of building permits rose 12.3%.

Redfin, the Seattle-based, technology powered real estate brokerage firm, reported on Thursday that in Q4, some sellers gave concessions to buyers in 41.9% of sales. This is the highest share of any three-month period in Redfin’s records.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December. Payroll employment increased by 4.5 million in 2022—an average monthly gain of 375,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%.