Slowing Inflation Primes G-7 Central Banks for June
Inflation-related releases across the Group of Seven will prime central bankers for crucial June interest-rate decisions, just as they meet in Italy to discuss the state of the world economy.
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Inflation-related releases across the Group of Seven will prime central bankers for crucial June interest-rate decisions, just as they meet in Italy to discuss the state of the world economy.
Big US bond investors have been aggressively shifting money into long-dated notes, betting that the unloved asset class will be one of the winners from eventual interest rate cuts.
A measure of underlying US inflation cooled in April for the first time in six months, a small step in the right direction for Federal Reserve officials looking to start cutting interest rates this year.
Emerging-market currencies dipped Friday on dwindling optimism over Federal Reserve rate cuts, paring their fourth-straight week of gains.
The owner of a historic office building in Manhattan’s Financial District has filed bankruptcy to sell the property, which has been subject to foreclosure and suffered from a lack of tenants due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aug 27, 2020
Bloomberg News
,U.S. pending home sales rose in July by more than forecast to the highest level since 2005, signaling the housing market’s sharp recovery will continue with borrowing costs to stay low for the foreseeable future.
The National Association of Realtors’ index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes increased 5.9 per cent from the prior month after a 15.8 per cent jump in June, according to data released Thursday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 2 per cent gain. Compared with a year ago, pending sales were up 15.4 per cent on an unadjusted basis.
The gauge’s rebound following an initial decline at the pandemic’s start shows that housing continues to be an area of strength for the recovering U.S. economy, in part because people are looking for more space while being stuck at home. That said, unemployment remains elevated and income uncertainty could slow demand for residential real estate.
“We are witnessing a true V-shaped sales recovery as homebuyers continue their strong return to the housing market,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement. Anecdotally, agents are saying that “scarce inventory remains a problem,” Yun said.
Pending home sales rose 25.2 per cent in the Northeast and 6.8 per cent in the West. Gains were smaller in other regions, with a 3.3 per cent increase in the Midwest and 0.9 per cent in the South.
The NAR revised its projection for existing home sales this year to 5.4 million units, up from a prior forecast of 5.18 million units. The group also estimates new-home sales of 800,000, up from 704,000.
A separate report on Tuesday showed that purchases of new single-family houses rose to their highest level since 2006 in July, further highlighting the surge in demand for housing.