Construction Spending Up in June
August 13, 2010
Total construction spending increased 0.1 percent to $836 billion in June after a decreased $834.8 billion in May after revision. Economists believed a drop in June of 0.8 percent would occur.
The monthly composite index of manufacturing activity was lower in July at 55.5 after a reading of 56.2 in June as reported by the Institute for Supply Management. Any reading above 50 is a sign of expansion but below this number indicates a negative atmosphere. This was the twelfth month in a row of expansion.
Orders from factories decreased in June by 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted amount of $406.4 billion. The decrease was over the double that economists had suggested of 0.5 percent with a decrease in May of 1.8 percent.
Pending home sales index reported by the National Association of Realtors, which shows a forward looking indicator based on the contracts signed decreased in June 2.6 percent after a decrease in May of 30 percent. On a year over year basis, the index is down 18.6 percent.
The seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week that ended on July 30 as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association was up 1.3 percent. Applications for refinancing increased 1.3 percent and purchase volume was up 1.5 percent.
The monthly composite index of non-manufacturing activity as reported by the Institute for Supply Management increased to 54.3 in July from 53.8 in June. Once again, any reading above 50 indicates expansion. This was the 7th month of growth in a row. Economists had estimated a reading of 53.
First claims for unemployment benefits increased by 19,000 claims to 479,000 for the week that ended on July 31. Those receiving claims for the week that ended on July 24 decreased by 34,000 to 4.54 million. The unemployment rate stayed the same in July at 9.5 percent.
Economic reports coming up include wholesale trade – August 10, international trade – August 11, and retail sales – August 13.
5 Comments to Construction Spending Up in June
Comments
Im glad to see things starting to pick up south of the border. Best of luck in the coming months.
Hey it’s good to see others picking up also. Maybe just maybe this is all about to be over.
I would love to see it go back up to half of what it was 6 years ago. But I guess a little is better than nothing.
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That is great news for this tough economy. If you are a real estate agent still standing today then you must be doing something right.
That is great news for this tough economy.
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