Treasury yields shot up this week amid resilient economic activity. As markets adjust their expectations for longer-term rates, the yield on the 10-year has moved to its highest level since the months preceding the global financial crisis. This development has numerous implications for the path of the economy and the Federal Reserve’s policymaking. Chair Powell acknowledged that the recent jump in yields intensifies the financial tightening already under way in the economy, noting that the Federal Reserve is paying attention to financial conditions as it charts the course of monetary policy.
The run-up in yields set off a surge in mortgage rates, nudging the housing market back toward recession. This week, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reported by Freddie Mac hit a near 23-year high of 7.6%. Higher frequency data from Mortgage News Daily suggest that mortgage rates are currently hovering above 8.0%, adding a new layer of financial and psychological strain for prospective homebuyers. Housing demand was in retreat long before this week’s increase, however. Existing home sales have posted four back-to-back declines culminating in a new cycle low in September, when sales sank to their slowest pace since 2010. With near-term affordability relief out of sight, the persistent downward trend in mortgage purchase applications suggests that resales likely have further to fall.
Single-family building has remained fairly resilient amid rising pressure on housing demand. In contrast to weakening resales, builders have found success using mortgage rate buydowns and price discounts to sell new construction. A pickup in new home sales sparked a trend rise in single-family permits since the start of the year, which notched its eighth back-to-back upswing in September. Tides may be turning as spiking mortgage rates test builders’ ability to bridge the affordability gap. The NAHB Housing Market Index gauging builder sentiment fell to a nine-month low in October, reflecting a worsening sales outlook. Meanwhile, multifamily construction continued to downshift as builders battle tighter credit conditions and rising trend in apartment vacancies. Despite a bump in multifamily starts in September, multifamily permits plunged to their lowest level since October 2020.
Higher financing costs are also pressuring the manufacturing sector. An uptick in manufacturing output drove industrial production 0.3% higher in September. That said, prior revisions revealed that manufacturing has largely flatlined since late last year. We expect manufacturing to continue to flounder as tighter credit conditions create an unfavorable environment for new capital investment. The ISM Manufacturing Survey has long signaled that higher rates are reducing demand for manufactured goods, and that sentiment was echoed this week in the Federal Reserve’s October Beige Book. Better inventory management is also taking some air out of production as producers opt not to stockpile into a slowdown.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 25 February 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 27, 2022
What a crazy week. It’s hard to worry about something as relatively unimportant as economic trends when one thinks about what folks in Ukraine are enduring, but economies are nonetheless impacted.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 06 March 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Mar 07, 2020
An inter-meeting rate cut by the FOMC did little to stem financial market volatility, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continued to climb.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 22 July 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 27, 2022
July\'s NAHB Housing Market Index dropped 12 points to 55, the second largest monthly decline on record behind April 2020\'s pandemic-induced collapse.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 28 April 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / May 03, 2023
U.S. Economy expands but at a weak rate. Regional bank failures cause corporate investment spreads to widen again. House Republicans pass bills that affect the debt ceiling.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 02 July 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 13, 2021
We added 850,00 jobs in June, but much of that was State governments school districts in some parts of the Country reopening just in time for summer break.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 06 August 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 16, 2021
Back to the economy, issues with supply constraints remains a broken-record reference, but data this week highlighted the economy\'s resilience in spite of those continuing problems.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 31 July 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 11, 2020
The resurgence in COVID-19 in much of the Sun Belt appears to have topped out, although cases are rising faster in some smaller mid-Atlantic states and in parts of Europe, Asia and Australia.
Economic Uncertainty Seems Removed Going Into The New Year 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Dec 28, 2019
The U.S. economy continues to expand, albeit at a moderate pace. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.1 percent in Q3/19.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 18 December 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Dec 21, 2020
This week marked the first U.S. COVID vaccinations and the imminent rollout of a second vaccine.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 17 February 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 20, 2023
Inflation in the U.K. receded for the third straight month in January, with the headline rate coming in at 10.1% year-over-year. In bad news, this is still five times the Bank of England\'s 2% target.
