Another Positive day for Interest Rates

Another Positive day for Interest Rates!

Retail sales report was mixed but the Bond Market responded favorably.

In short, manufacturing looks stronger than expected, consumer spending is decent but not booming, and the job market remains steady despite a small increase in new unemployment claims.

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index

It jumped to 44.3 in January (up from -11), which is surprisingly strong and might be because companies are stocking up on supplies before any possible new tariffs.

Fed’s Beige Book

This report checks real-world business conditions across the country

It found that the economy grew modestly, consumer spending did better than expected over the holidays, manufacturers are preparing for possible tariffs, and wages are going up but not too fast.

Retail Sales

Overall shopping numbers for December were up 0.4%, which is below what experts were predicting (0.6%).

However, “core” retail sales (a key figure used to calculate economic growth) rose 0.7%, beating estimates.

Jobless Claims

The number of people newly applying for unemployment benefits went up slightly to 217,000 last week.

The number of people continuing to receive benefits after their first claim dropped to about 1.86 million.