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Economic Data Guides

Evergreen guides for major economic indicators. Explains what each series measures, how it fits into the macro picture, and what surprises usually mean for FX, rates, equities, and commodities.

US Core Retail Sales m/m — Indicator 1.31

US Core Retail Sales m/m measures the month-to-month percentage change in US retail sales excluding autos, and in some calendar definitions also excluding a few other volatile categories like gasoline and building materials. Conceptually it is about underlying household goods-and-services demand routed through the retail sector, stripped of the noisiest big-ticket or price-sensitive components. It […]

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US CB Consumer Confidence — Indicator 1.32

CB Consumer Confidence is the Conference Board’s monthly survey-based index of how US households perceive the economy now and over the next six months. It’s built from a sample of households answering questions about business conditions, job availability, and income prospects, and is normalized to a long-run average of 100 (1985 = 100). Within the […]

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US University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Prelim/Final) — Indicator 1.33

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is a survey-based gauge of how US households feel about their current financial situation and the economic outlook. It covers perceptions of personal finances, business conditions, and buying conditions for big-ticket items. It sits squarely in the “household demand / expectations” part of the chain: it doesn’t measure […]

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US Existing Home Sales — Indicator 1.35

Existing Home Sales track the number of previously owned single-family homes, townhouses, condos and co-ops that change hands in a given month, reported at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in millions of units. The data are compiled by the National Association of Realtors and usually refer to contracts that closed 30–60 days earlier, so […]

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US New Home Sales — Indicator 1.36

New Home Sales tracks the number of newly built single-family homes sold during the month, usually reported as a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR). It sits in the real-economy housing block, right where household demand meets the construction sector: buyers are signing contracts on new builds, and developers are deciding whether to keep building or […]

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US Pending Home Sales m/m — Indicator 1.37

Pending Home Sales m/m tracks the month-over-month change in signed contracts for existing homes in the United States. It’s published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and captures agreements that haven’t yet gone to closing. Economically, it sits in the household / housing demand part of the chain: it’s one step earlier than Existing […]

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US HPI m/m — Indicator 1.38

The US HPI m/m is a monthly house price index, usually based on repeat-sales of single-family homes financed by agency mortgages (Fannie/Freddie). It measures the percentage change from the previous month in average house prices, so a print of +0.4% m/m (for example) means the index level rose 0.4% versus the prior month. It sits […]

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US S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI y/y — Indicator 1.39

The S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-20 Home Price Index (HPI) y/y is a repeat-sales house price index covering 20 major US metropolitan areas. It tracks how the average price of the same single-family homes changes over time, expressed as a year-on-year rate. In other words, a print of, say, +4.5% y/y means that, on average, house prices in […]

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US NAHB Housing Market Index — Indicator 1.40

The NAHB Housing Market Index (HMI) is a monthly survey-based gauge of US single-family homebuilder sentiment, produced by the National Association of Home Builders in partnership with Wells Fargo. It’s a diffusion index built from three components: current single-family sales, expected sales over the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers. Readings above 50 […]

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