Economic Update

[Adam in CO]

Sorry I haven't been writing these for a while. Been extremely busy.

Helped by sinking gasoline prices, consumer prices fell by 0.5% in September, the largest dip in 10 months, the Labor Department reported October 18. The decline was better than the 0.3% drop predicted by Wall Street analysts. Consumer core inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose 0.2%, the third straight month of modest gains.
Producer prices -- the prices that producers charge wholesalers -- fell by 1.3%, nearly double the expected decline and the largest in more than three years. Producer core inflation, however, jumped 0.6% in September, the biggest increase in 20 months. Much of the rise in core inflation was attributed to auto dealers ending their incentives to try to sell a glut of unsold cars.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board said on October 19 that its September Index of Leading Economic Indicators edged up 0.1%. The index, which had slipped 0.3% in July and 0.2% in August, is designed to predict economic activity three to six months in the future. The small September gain fits with economists' expectations that growth will slow in coming months.
Housing starts showed an unexpected rise of 5.9% in September, the Commerce Department reported October 18. While an improvement over August, September's housing starts are still 17.9% lower than a year ago. Issuance of building permits -- a key indicator of future building activity -- declined 6.3% in September, the biggest drop since October 2001.
After last week's gain, rates on 30-year fixed mortgages declined for the week ending October 19.
This week look for updates on existing home sales on October 25 and new home sales on October 26.