Durable Orders for May increased unexpectedly, by 1.8% to $163.9 billion, although was expected to decline by 0.8% following a 1.8% increase in April, revised downwards from the originally reported 1.9% increase.  While 3 of the past 4 months showed improvements in new orders, over the past 12 months, Durable Orders have reduced by 26.8%.  Excluding transportation, new orders increased by 1.1% in May with a 23.4% 12 month decline; excluding defense, new orders increased by 1.4% over the month, although down 28.7% over the year, indicating an improved propensity for business investments.  Machinery showed the largest increase, by 7.7% ($1.6 billion), leading the increase in total Durable Orders. 

New Home Sales for May decreased by 0.6% to an annual pace of 342,000, following a 344,000 pace revised downward from 352,000.  New Sales were expected to increase to 362,000 over the month.  Over the year, this figure has plummeted down 32.8% from the 509,000 pace estimated in May of 2008. The median price of a new home sold in May was $221,000, with the mean price at $274,300.  With an estimated 292,000 inventory of new homes, at the current sales rate, this supply is expected to sustain for 10.2 months.

Today at 2:15 PM EST will conclude the Federal Open Market Committee’s closed door 2 day meeting, when the Policy Statement will be released.  The addendum for the meeting, the Fed’s Beige Book, which was released two weeks ago, favored the perception that conditions were weak or deteriorated further during the period from mid-April through May.  Minutes of this meeting will be released to the public on July 15th (2:15 PM EST).

Upcoming Releases
FOMC Policy Statement (06/24 at 2:15 PM EST)
GDP Q1-Final (06/25 at 8:30 AM EST)
Initial Claims (06/25 at 8:30 AM EST)
Personal Spending – May (06/26 at 8:30 AM EST)

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