– Home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas increased for the second consecutive month in May, according to a report released by Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday, although prices continued to show a notable drop compared to same month a year ago.
The report showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose 1.0 percent on a monthly basis in May following a 0.6 percent increase in April.
At the same time, S&P said that the 20-City Composite Home Price Index fell at an annual rate of 4.5 percent in May, the steepest year-over-year drop since November of 2009.
“We see some seasonal improvements with May’s data,” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices.
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– Eurozone industrial orders grew at the fastest pace in nine months in May, after a modest decline in the previous month. However, the data is unlikely to ease concerns over the performance of the region’s manufacturing sector as other indicators have weakened.
Industrial new orders increased a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent month-on-month, after dropping 0.1 percent in April, the European Union statistical office Eurostat said. Economists had forecast orders to grow just 0.8 percent, following April’s original figure of 0.7 percent growth.
The latest growth figure is the biggest since August last year, when orders rose 4.5 percent. In March and February, orders registered modest gains.
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– Australia’s trade surplus climbed to a seven-month high in May on the back of strong exports and a recovery in mining after flood-related slump, latest official figures revealed Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted surplus rose more than expected to A$2.3 billion in May from A$1.6 billion in April. Economists were looking for a surplus of A$1.9 billion.
The surplus increased with the earlier disruptions from flooding of coal mines gradually being unwound, and conditions in the global industrial cycle now looking a little more favorable for exports, said Ben Jarman, an economist at J.P. Morgan.
Trade surplus gained further ground thanks mostly to higher non-monetary gold exports, the economist added.
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– The total number of building approvals in Australia plummeted a seasonally adjusted 7.9 percent in May compared to the previous month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, standing at 12,290. That missed by a mile forecasts for a decline of 0.5 percent on month following the 1.3 percent contraction in April.
The news was even worse on an annual basis as approvals plunged 14.4 percent versus expectations for a 5.6 percent fall following the 11.5 percent contraction in the previous month.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector houses approved rose 0.7 percent in May following a fall of 2.3 percent in the previous month.
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– Retail sales in Australia dropped notably in May, confounding economists expectations for a marginal increase, latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.
Sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent month-on-month in May compared to an upwardly revised 1.2 percent increase in April. Economists were looking for a 0.3 percent rise in sales in May.
Food retailing fell 0.4 percent in seasonally adjusted terms. Household goods retailing dropped 0.2 percent. Retail trade in clothing and footwear slid 1.8 percent, while there was a 1.4 percent fall in sales at department stores.
Commenting on the data, Helen Kevans, an economist at J.P. Morgan Australia said that the firm expects consumer spending to remain weak near-term amid rising living costs.
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– New orders for U.S. durable goods rebounded by more than expected in May, according to figures released by the Commerce Department on Friday, with revised figures also showing that the April decline was not as steep as initially estimated.
Durable goods orders rose by $3.6 billion, or 1.9 percent, in May, marking a turnaround from April’s 2.7 percent decline. Economists had been expecting orders to increase by about 1.5 percent compared to the 3.6 percent drop that had been reported for the previous month.
The bigger than expected rebound in May was driven by an increase in orders for transportation equipment, which rose by 5.8 percent amid a 36.5 percent jump in orders for non-defense aircraft and parts.
Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders increased by a more modest 0.6 percent compared to a 0.4 percent drop in April.
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