Read the highlights of this week’s commentary from Helios:
Consumers continue to push ahead, with retail sales beating estimates again in October by rising 1.3%, versus the consensus estimate of 1.0%. Vehicle sales were strong, coming back from a September decline, but gains were seen outside of just vehicles with retail sales excluding vehicles rising 0.9%, well above the 0.2% expected.
Industrial production fell 0.1% in October, the second drop in three months, though the narrower measure of factory production increased by 0.1%. The gain in factory production also hinged on vehicles, and when taking those out, it was effectively flat for the month. Supply chains are becoming less of a headache, which is helping, though slowing demand from rising rates is dampening those gains.
The housing market continues to cool, with the ninth straight month of declining existing home sales. The streak of declines is a new record as October’s closing fell another 5.9%
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