Anticipation of Decrease in U.S. Existing Home Sales and Other Economic Data

As we progress through the week, economic experts are focusing their attention on the latest United States economic data. A summary of median forecasts, drawn from a Wall Street Journal-conducted survey, hints at what's to come in the remaining part of the week. A key event on the calendar is the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement, which is poised for release on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET, and will be subsequently discussed in a press briefing with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Economic Release Schedule

The economic releases scheduled for the latter part of the week encompass a variety of sectors. Notably, initial jobless claims for the week ending on March 16 are expected to slightly rise to 213,000, a marginal increase from the previous 209,000. The Current Account Balance for the fourth quarter is anticipated to show a deficit of $206.6 billion, an increase over the prior quarter's $200.3 billion deficit. In addition, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey for March foresees a downtick to -5.0, contrasting with the positive figure of 5.2 seen previously.

The manufacturing and services sectors will also be under review, with the S&P Global Flash U.S. Manufacturing and Services PMIs for March being predicted at 51.8 and 52.0, respectively. These forecasts slightly decrease from the end-of-February readings, suggesting a modest slowing in these sectors.

Focus on Home Sales

A particularly notable figure is the Existing Home Sales data for February, which is poised to draw significant attention. Experts are forecasting sales to have reached 3.95 million, marking a downturn from 4 million in the prior month. This suggests a potential -1.3% month-on-month change, following a +3.1% increase previously. There is also speculation around the Leading Index for February, where the consensus points to a -0.1% decline, which would be an improvement over the -0.4% reading of the preceding month.

economy, housing, FOMC