This week, two key inflation measures were updated. The producer price index (PPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that wholesale prices unexpectedly cooled in December.
US employment in December advanced by the most in nine months and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, capping another year of resilience in the labor market.
Home-price growth in the US slowed in October as buyers gained more bargaining power. A national gauge of prices rose 3.6% from a year earlier, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.
The Census Bureau reported on Monday that new home sales in November rose 5.9% to a 664,000 annualized rate. That was a little below but still close to in line with the median estimate of 669,000 in a survey of economists by Bloomberg.
A survey by the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo showed a gauge of sales in the next six months increased to 66 this month, the highest since April 2022.
US consumer prices rose at a firm pace in November that was in line with expectations, solidifying expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week.