The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims for the week ending July 5 fell by 5,000 to 227,000. The median forecast in a survey of economists conducted by Bloomberg called for 235,000 applications so, once again, the job market surprises to the upside.
Lawmakers passed and signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act on July 4 after several weeks of debate. The law includes changes to the tax code, federal spending and lifts the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
US job growth exceeded expectations in June, driven by a boost in public education hiring that helped bolster the labor market in the slowing economy.
This week data was released on both existing and new homes sales. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), previously owned home sales rose slightly in May by 0.8% to an annualized rate of 4.03 million in a report released on Monday.
Relative calm returned to global markets in Monday trading, with stocks climbing and oil sinking alongside gold as fears subsided that Israel’s war against Iran would escalate into a wider conflict.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.8% in May from a year ago, excluding food and energy items, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Goods prices, again excluding energy and food, were unchanged reflecting lower apparel and used-car prices.