Initial Claims decreased to 456,000, for the week ending 04/17, beating the expected decrease to 460,000, after increasing to 480,000, the unrevised figure for the previous week. The 4-week moving average increased to 460,250, from the previous week’s revised average of 457,500. Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment from the prior week, ending on 04/10, was 4,646,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,686,000. Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate from the week ending on 04/10, was 3.6%, a decrease of 0.1% from the previous week’s revised figure of 3.7%.
The Producer Price Index increased by 0.7% in March to 179.2 (1982=100), higher than the expected increase of 0.4%, following a 0.6% decrease in February and an increase of 1.4% in January. Over the year, the index has advanced 6.0%, the largest year-over-year increase since an 8.8-percent rise in September 2008. The index for energy goods increased by 0.7% in March and prices for consumer foods increased by 2.4%, its sixth straight monthly increase. Excluding food and energy prices, Core PPI increased 0.1% after increasing by 0.1% in February.
Existing Home Sales are scheduled for release today at 10:00 AM EST. Our consensus estimate shows this indicator is expected to increase to a 5.25 million annual pace for March from the 5.02 million pace reported in February. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $165,100, which is 1.8% below the figure recorded a year earlier.
Upcoming Releases
Existing Home Sales (04/22 at 10:00 AM EST)
Durable Orders (04/23 at 8:30 AM EST)
New Home Sales (04/23 at 10:00 AM EST)
Consumer Confidence (04/27 at 10:00 AM EST)
