–FHFA Home Price Index +0.3%
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – US durable goods new orders rose solidly in February, but the headline number was almost entirely driven by a transportation surge, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Orders rose by 1.2% (-0.6% expected) in February but were down 0.6% (-0.3% expected) when a 4.6% jump in transportation orders is excluded, showing that there were some early effects from the global COVID-related shutdowns.
There was a 0.8% gain in durable goods shipments but were down 0.2% outside of transportation. Nondefense capital goods shipments ex. aircraft fell by 0.7% and orders fell by 0.8%, proxies for capital spending.
The full manufacturing report, which includes data on nondurable goods, will be released on April 2.
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In other data Wednesday, U.S. January FHFA home price index was +0.3% (+0.4% expected) and +5.2% year/year. The data, of course, precede even the earliest impact of the COVID virus in the US. In future months prices are likely to slip due to falling demand.
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Contact this reporter: kevin@macenews.com