Editor’s Note
This article discusses recent housing market data from the US, highlighting a slowdown in monthly price growth according to the FHFA index, while annual gains in major cities slightly surpassed forecasts.
The US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that the December FHFA House Price Index rose by +0.1% month-on-month, slowing from +0.7% in November and falling short of expectations. This marks the smallest increase since September of last year when it turned negative. The US December S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose by +1.38% year-on-year, showing a slowdown from December but exceeding the expectation of +1.30%.
Previously released, the US February Philadelphia Fed Non-Manufacturing Activity Index came in at -17.3, worsening further from -4.2 in January. This marks the 16th consecutive month of negative readings.
The US ADP Weekly Employment 4-Week Average Change (Feb 7) was 12.75 thousand, up from the previous 11.5 thousand. This is the highest level since the end of November last year.
The dollar remained firm. USD/JPY rose from 155.77 yen to 156.09 yen. EUR/USD fell from 1.1780 dollars to 1.1767 dollars, while GBP/USD continued to fluctuate within a range of 1.3476 dollars to 1.3494 dollars.
• US February Philadelphia Fed Non-Manufacturing Activity: -17.3 (Expectation: -6.8, January: -4.2)
• US ADP Weekly Employment 4-Week Average Change (Feb 7): 12.75 thousand (Previous: 11.5 thousand ← 10.25 thousand)
• US December FHFA House Price Index: +0.1% MoM (Expectation: +0.3%, November: +0.7% ← +0.6%)
• US December S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index: +1.38% YoY (Expectation: +1.30%, November: +1.42% ← +1.39%)