Retail Sales Decreased

As reported by the ISCS-Goldman Sachs Index, retail sales dropped for the week that ended on July 30. On a year over year basis, retailers enjoyed an increase in sales of 4 percent.

The monthly composite index of manufacturing activity report from the Institute for Supply Management showed a fall to 50.9 in the month of July after seeing a 55.3 reading in the month of June. Any reading that is above 50 shows expansion. This was the 24th month in a row of expansion.

The monthly composite index of non-manufacturing activity as reported by the Institute for Supply Management decreased to 52.7 in the month of July from the figure of 53.3 seen in the month of June. This was the 19th month in a row for seeing expansion in the services sector.

An increase in total construction rose 0.2 percent to bring the amount to $772.3 billion in the month of June, after seeing a gain of 0.3 percent in the month of May. Economists believed there would an increase of 0.1 percent in the month of June.

Factory orders dropped 0.8 percent in the month June to a seasonally adjusted $440.7 billion, after seeing a 0.6 percent increase in the month of May. Not including the volatile transportation sector, orders increased 0.1 percent in the month of June.

The seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications according to the Mortgage Bankers Association increased 7.1 percent for the week that ended on July 29, refinancing applications rose 7.8 percent, and purchase volume increased 5.1 percent.

First claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 1,000 to 400,000 for the week that ended on July 30, continuing claims for the week that ended on July 23 increased by 10,000 to 3.7 million. The monthly unemployment rate decreased to 9.1 percent in the month of July from the figure of 9.2 percent in the month of June.

Forward Look at the Economic Calendar
August 10 – wholesale trade on August 10
August 11 – international trade
August 12 – retail sales