According to the latest (1/15/21) University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Survey U.S. consumer sentiment declined in early January to a reading of 79.2 down from December’s final reading of 80.7.
News in end use
Producer Price Index Increases 0.3% in December – Up Year-Over-Year 1.4%
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting (1/15/21), that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand increased 0.3% in December, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 0.1% increase in November and a 0.3% in increase in November.
Mortgage Rates Climb Higher in Week Ending January 14th, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 14th January 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.79% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.65%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Move Higher in the Week Ending January 9th, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 965,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday January 9th. An increase of 181,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 834,250, an increase of 18,250 from the previous week’s revised average.
Associated Builders & Contractors Optimism Improved in Recent Construction Backlog Survey
According to a recently conducted Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) member survey the Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) rebounded slightly in December to a reading of 7.3 months, an increase of 0.1 months from November’s reading. The ABC Construction Confidence Index (CCI) readings for sales, profit margin and staffing levels also increased in December.
Consumer Price Index Moves Higher in December
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) prices increased 0.4% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 0.2% in November.
Mortgage Applications Increased 16.7% in Week Ending January 8th, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending January 8th , 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 16.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey for November 2020
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has posted its Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for November 2020. According to the JOLTS report the number of job openings dropped from 6.7 in October to 6.5 million in November, which is a rate of 4.4%, as of the last business day of November.
Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Declined in Weekending January 3rd, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased from 5.53% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.46% as of January 3, 2021.
Small Business Confidence Drops in December
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index declined 5.5 points from November, to a reading of 95.9 in December. Falling below the historical average reading of 98, which was established in 1973.