by Calculated Risk on 5/22/2018 10:05:00 AM

From the Richmond Fed: Fifth District Manufacturing Firms Reported Robust Growth in May

Fifth District manufacturing firms saw robust growth in May, according to survey results from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite index swung from −3 in April to 16 in May, boosted by growth in the indexes for shipments, new orders, and employment. Local business conditions also moved back into expansionary territory, after weakening in April, and firms remained optimistic that growth would continue in coming months.

Survey results indicate that both employment and wages rose among manufacturing firms in May [Index for number of employees increased from 12 to 18], however, firms still struggled to find the skills they needed. They expect this struggle to continue in the next six months and also expect employment and wages to increase further.

Many manufacturing firms continued to increase spending in May. The growth rate of prices paid continued to rise, on average, but firms seemed able to pass some of change through to customers, as prices received also grew at a faster rate.
emphasis added

All of the regional manufacturing reports for May have been solid so far.

by Calculated Risk on 5/22/2018 09:18:00 AM

Whenever I'm driving, it seems like I'm surrounded by more and more SUVs and trucks. So I thought I'd look at the changing mix of vehicle sales over time (between passenger cars and light trucks / SUVs).

The first graph below shows the mix of sales since 1976 (Blue is cars, Red is light trucks and SUVs).


Click on graph for larger image.

The mix has changed significantly. Back in 1976, most light vehicles were passenger cars - however car sales have trended down over time.

Note that the big dips in sales are related to economic recessions (early '80s, early '90s, and the Great Recession of 2007 through mid-2009).

The second graph shows the percent of light vehicle sales between passenger cars and trucks / SUVs.

Over time the mix has changed toward more and more light trucks and SUVs.

Only when oil prices are high, does the trend slow or reverse.

Recently oil prices have been fairly low (now increasing), and the percent of light trucks and SUVs is almost up to 70%.

by Calculated Risk on 5/21/2018 05:14:00 PM

Tuesday:
• At 10:00 AM ET, Richmond Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity for May.

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Unchanged to Begin Week

Mortgage rates held steady today, which is better than what could be said for most of last week when rates shot up to the highest levels in 7 years. Friday was the only day of improvement, but it was scarcely enough to undo the damage from the previous 4 days. [30YR FIXED - 4.75-4.875%]
emphasis added

Here is a table from Mortgage News Daily:

Home Loan Rates

View More Refinance Rates

by Calculated Risk on 5/21/2018 02:55:00 PM

Ten years ago today, I wrote House Price Mosaic. This was a discussion of how areas with significant foreclosure activity were seeing larger price declines (as expected).

In the post, I mentioned a foreclosure that Jim the Realtor had listed for sale at 260 Securidad St in Oceanside, CA.

For fun, I took a look at that house.

The house had sold for $318,000 in July 2004, and according to Jim, the owner refinanced a year later for a total of $375,000 in loans.

The house sold for $140,000 in June 2008 at foreclosure.

Now the house would probably sell for double the foreclosure price.    That is a crazy ride.

by Calculated Risk on 5/21/2018 11:08:00 AM

First, an excerpt from a research note by Merrill Lynch economists today:

If bad luck intersects with bad policy, a recession becomes a real risk. We would keep a particularly close eye on two traditional business-cycle killers-the Fed response to stronger-than-expected inflation in the US and a growing shortage of oil, pushing prices to new heights.

So far the increase in oil prices isn't a concern for the economy, but it is something to watch.

Click on graph for larger image

The first graph shows WTI and Brent spot oil prices from the EIA. (Prices today added).

According to Bloomberg, WTI is at $71.40 per barrel today, and Brent is at $78.30.

Prices collapsed in 2008 due to the financial crisis, and then increased as the economy recovered.   Oil prices collapsed again in 2014 and 2015, mostly due to oversupply.

Now oil prices are rising sharply again.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in WTI based on data from the EIA.

Six times since 1987, oil prices have increased 100% or more YoY.  And several times prices have almost fallen in half YoY.   Oil prices are volatile!

Currently WTI is up about 50% year-over-year.

by Calculated Risk on 5/21/2018 08:36:00 AM

From the Chicago Fed: Index Points to Little Change in Economic Growth in April

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) ticked up to +0.34 in April from +0.32 in March. Two of the four broad categories of indicators that make up the index increased from March, and three of the four categories made positive contributions to the index in April. The index’s three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, increased to +0.46 in April from +0.23 in March.
emphasis added

This graph shows the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (three month moving average) since 1967.

Click on graph for larger image.

This suggests economic activity was above the historical trend in April (using the three-month average).

According to the Chicago Fed:

The index is a weighted average of 85 indicators of growth in national economic activity drawn from four broad categories of data: 1) production and income; 2) employment, unemployment, and hours; 3) personal consumption and housing; and 4) sales, orders, and inventories.
...
A zero value for the monthly index has been associated with the national economy expanding at its historical trend (average) rate of growth; negative values with below-average growth (in standard deviation units); and positive values with above-average growth.

by Calculated Risk on 5/20/2018 07:19:00 PM

Weekend:
• Schedule for Week of May 20, 2018

Monday:
• 8:30 AM ET, Chicago Fed National Activity Index for April. This is a composite index of other data.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: S&P 500 are up 16, and DOW futures are up 193 (fair value).

Oil prices were up over the last week with WTI futures at $71.64 per barrel and Brent at $78.91 per barrel.  A year ago, WTI was at $50, and Brent was at $53 - so oil prices are up about 50% year-over-year.

Here is a graph from Gasbuddy.com for nationwide gasoline prices. Nationally prices are at $2.92 per gallon. A year ago prices were at $2.35 per gallon - so gasoline prices are up 57 cents per gallon year-over-year.

by Calculated Risk on 5/20/2018 08:31:00 AM

Some interesting analysis from economist Josh Lehner, at the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis on whether people actually downsize in retirement. This is important since so many baby boomers are reaching retirement age. Will they downsize or will they age in place?

A few excerpts: Do People Really Downsize?

The question, or the assumption that older households downsize as they age is one that I’ve really struggled with trying to answer. Obviously it makes theoretical sense. As one’s children grow up, you no longer need as much space, and the love/hate relationship with the yard may become more physically taxing. I hear comments along these lines quite frequently. And many urbanists rightfully point out that one of the benefits of the missing middle housing — duplexes, quads, townhomes, etc — is it better allows aging in place. That is it would provide additional housing options within existing neighborhoods so if a household does sell/downsize, they do not have to leave their longtime friends and social networks. They can remain in the same area. An added benefit in this scenario would then be a larger, single family home coming back onto the market for another family to move into. We could adjust, or tailor our housing situation with our actual housing needs. Again, all of that makes sense. But do we actually see households downsize overall, let alone stay in the neighborhood? Turning to the data shows that it it kinda, sorta does happen on a small scale. …
...
Bottom Line: Moving rates and downsizing among households in their early retirement years is not very common. In fact it is less common today than in decades past. However, among those that do move in their 60s and 70s, they downsize. Given the large Baby Boomer generation continues to age into their retirement years, the absolute number of such moves is expected to rise, even if it remains a relatively small share of the housing market overall.

by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2018 08:12:00 AM

The key economic reports this week are April New and Existing home sales.

----- Monday, May 21st -----
8:30 AM ET: Chicago Fed National Activity Index for April. This is a composite index of other data.

----- Tuesday, May 22nd -----
10:00 AM ET: Richmond Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity for May.

----- Wednesday, May 23rd -----
7:00 AM ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

10:00 AM: New Home Sales for April from the Census Bureau.

This graph shows New Home Sales since 1963. The dashed line is the March sales rate.

The consensus is for 677 thousand SAAR, down from 694 thousand in March.

During the day: The AIA's Architecture Billings Index for April (a leading indicator for commercial real estate).

2:00 PM: FOMC Minutes for the Meeting of May 1-2, 2018

----- Thursday, May 24th -----
8:30 AM ET: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released.  The consensus is for 220 thousand initial claims, down from 222 thousand the previous week.

9:00 AM: FHFA House Price Index for March 2018. This was originally a GSE only repeat sales, however there is also an expanded index.

10:00 AM: Existing Home Sales for April from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The consensus is for 5.60 million SAAR, unchanged from 5.60 million in March.

The graph shows existing home sales from 1994 through the report last month.

Housing economist Tom Lawler estimates the NAR will reports sales of 5.48 million SAAR for April.

11:00 AM: the Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey for May.

----- Friday, May 25th -----
8:30 AM: Durable Goods Orders for April from the Census Bureau. The consensus is for a 1.3% decrease in durable goods orders.

9:20 AM: Panel Discussion, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Financial Stability and Central Bank Transparency, At the Sveriges Riksbank Conference: 350 Years of Central Banking--The Past, The Present and The Future, Stockholm, Sweden

10:00 AM: University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (Final for May). The consensus is for a reading of 99.0, up from 98.8.

by Calculated Risk on 5/18/2018 09:28:00 PM

A few comments from Steven Kopits of Princeton Energy Advisors LLC on May 18, 2018:

• Total US oil rigs were flat at 844

• Horizontal oil rigs added 1 to 746
...
• Given the strength of oil prices recently, this week’s pause in rig additions came as something of a surprise, but might be attributable to transient, technical factors

Click on graph for larger image.

CR note: This graph shows the US horizontal rig count by basin.

Graph and comments Courtesy of Steven Kopits of Princeton Energy Advisors LLC.