- by New Deal democrat
As earlier mentioned, this morning we got our first read on January data, and the news was positive on both fronts.
First of all, residential construction spending increased:
This is the latest indication that the rebound in housing, which began with sales and permits at about midyear last year, has continued into actual construction. This is a positive for the economy in the second half of this year.
Secondly, as telegraphed by improvements in the regional Fed new orders indexes, the ISM manufacturing index for January rebounded into slight expansion, and the new orders component increased into expansion as well (h/t Briefing.com):
This is a short leading indicator, and suggests that manufacturing may be beginning to rebound after truces in the trade wars.
We are still waiting for vehicle sales to see if past producer weakness is spreading into consumer, and further into producer, durable goods purchases.
