Read the highlights of this week’s commentary from Helios:
Mortgage applications continue to plummet, falling 6.3% for the week ending April 1, making it the fourth consecutive decline after falling 8.1% and 6.8% in the prior two weeks. According to Bankrate data, the decline comes as mortgage rates continue to rise, with the average 30-year fixed rate crossing 5%.
Initial jobless claims continue to come in below expectations with 166K new claims, below the 200K expected by economists and even below the lowest forecast among the survey’s respondents.
Despite a 2.1% decline in orders of durable goods, the underlying data points to some positive developments, primarily the gap between orders and actual shipments is the lowest since May 2020, pointing to increased ability to ship final goods and perhaps some improvement in supply chains woes. The headline decline was also exacerbated by an expected setback in aircraft orders, which plunged 30%.
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