News in end use

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 242,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a 0.3% increase in April and 0.4% increases in both March and February.

61.9% of homes for sale in May had been listed for at least 30 days without going under contract, Redfin reported. That is up 60% from one year earlier and approximately 50% from two years earlier.

Mortgage loan application volume increased 15.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, MBA reported.

The total value of building permits in Canada increased 20.5% month-over-month to $12.8 billion (CAD) in April.

Total outstanding US debt stood at $5.05 trillion in Q1, increasing at an annualized rate of 1.86% (seasonally adjusted), the Federal Reserve and NAHB reported.

The median US asking rent rose 0.8% year-over-year to $1,653 in May, the highest level since October 2022, Redfin reported.

The National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index increased 0.8 points in May to a reading of 90.5 but remained below the 50-year average of 98.0.

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s all-transactions House Price Index, US house prices increased 6.3% between 2023Q1 and Q1.

The index rose to a reading of 54 last week, the highest level since May 2022. Over the last month, the index has gained 3 points.