Weekly Information

Mortgage interest rates improved slightly this past week on mixed economic data. Data weaker than expected included May Housing Starts, down 10% on expectations that starts would be down 2.8%. Single family housing starts were down 17.2%, the largest decline since 1991. May Housing Permits fell 5.9% on expectations that they would be up 3.4%. Weekly jobless claims increased by 12k on expectations that they would fall by 2k. The Philadelphia Fed Business Index fell to 8.0 on expectations that it would come in at 18.8. On the flip side, May Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization were both better than expected. The New York Empire State Manufacturing Index for June increased from May levels. Also of note, May inflation data continued to show tame inflation.