The following statistics were released today on the state of the US economy:

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort index fell to -38.5 from last week’s -37.9.

The Pending Home Sales Index fell -1.4% in June, to 99.3, as low housing prices keep existing homes off the market, reducing the available inventory.

Initial jobless claims fell sharply, down 35,000 to 353,000. The 4-week average fell 8,750 to 367,250. Continuing claims fell 30,000 to 3.287 million. There is a lot of weekly variation in the numbers, as the auto industry re-tools over the summer, so the 4-week average is the better number to look at right now.

Buoyed mainly by aircraft sales, durable goods orders rose 1.6% in June, up 8.0% from last year. Ex transportation, however, orders fell -1.1%, and were up only 3.0% from last year.

The Kansas City Fed Manufacturing index slipped 6 points to a reading of 3 in Jul.

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Dale Franks
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