English to German Bus/Financial Economics US-market data / consumer spending

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US data continues to improve
While none of last night’s data could be said to be strong in an absolute sense, it was stronger than market expectations and, importantly, reinforces the impression that another economic ‘soft spot’ is beginning to pass, says today’s Dbdaily. Housing has been a key source of concern. Last week mortgage applications only partially reversed a surge upwards the week before and the four-week average is now just 2.4% lower than a year-earlier. Meanwhile, the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) homebuilders index rose to a six-month high in January. The index is still at a low level that, if sustained, portends significant weakness in consumer spending. Despite this, chain store sales have made a good start to the year, with the latest week’s sales up 4.9% year-on-year the best growth seen sincee September (and the latter was boosted by base effects). The rebound in the ABC/WP (ABC/Washington Post) consumer comfort index and a decent reading on ***December IP*** reinforced the overall picture.