Today, we did however see positive economic data releases (with the exception of housing data - see below). August durable goods orders data was released today and appeared to have a positive impact on trading. While durable goods order were actually down last month, slipping by 1.3% (which made for the worst monthly drop in a year), that decline was still better than the anticipated loss of 1.4% had economists had been expecting. When the transportation component of these goods orders is excluded, orders in fact spiked two percent higher (consensus estimate: an increase of only 0.6%).
The Commerce Department said today that August new home sales were largely unchanged month-over-month, coming in at an annualized 288,000 units, meeting consensus estimates. This data hardly indicates any recovery in the housing market, as the number of new homes sold was the second-lowest on record; August 2010 sales were in fact 29% below those registered a year earlier for the same month. One market analyst called this a 'pitiful performance', adding that a 'meaningful pickup in sales' would not be seen until next year.
According to the National Association of Realtors, in August sales of previously occupied homes were up 7.6% as compared to July, rising to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million. This number, too, is very low: it represents the second-poorest month in more than 10 years (note that July was the worst month for previously owned home sales in 15 years). In August 2010, the median sales price for a new home came in at $204,700, off by 1.2% compared to one year earlier (sales prices are now at their lowest levels since late 2003).
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