US Data: Highlights of MNI Survey of Economic Forecasts

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are highlights of forecasts for   

upcoming U.S. economic indicators provided by participants in the MNI   

weekly survey. The comment section presents the key elements behind the 

median forecasts.  

New Home Sales for July (annual rate)                                   

 Wednesday, August 23 at 10:00 a.m. ET                   Actual:        

               Median         Range                  Jul17  Jun17  May17

 New Homes       613k     605k to 620k                  --   610k   605k

     Comments: New home sales are expected to increase to a 613,000     

annual rate in July following a modest 0.8% gain in June. Unadjusted    

sales were up 10.0% from a year earlier before seasonal adjustment. Home

supply rose by 1.1% in June, lifting the months supply to 5.4 months.   

Housing starts fell 4.8% in July after a 7.4% gain in June, while       

permits declined 4.1%. As a result, supply is likely to remain          

relatively soft in the coming months.                                   

Weekly Jobless Claims for August 19 week                                

 Thursday, August 24 at 8:30 a.m. ET                     Actual:        

                 Median         Range                Aug19  Aug12  Aug05

 Weekly Claims     235k     235k to 240k                --   232k   244k

     Comments: The level of initial jobless claims is expected to rise  

by 3,000 to 235,000 in the August 19 week after a 12,000 decline in the 

previous week. The four-week moving average, which has declines for     

three straight weeks, would fall by 2,500 in the coming week as the     

245,000 level in the July 22 week drops out of the drops out of the     

calculation, assuming the MNI forecast is correct and there are no      

revisions.                                                              

Existing-home Sales for July (annual rate)                              

 Thursday, August 24 at 10:00 a.m. ET                    Actual:        

                 Median         Range                Jul17  Jun17  May17

 Home Resales     5.55m     5.42m to 5.65m              --  5.52m  5.62m

     Comments: The pace of existing home sales is expected to rise to a 

5.55 million annual rate in July after falling by 1.8% in June. Sales   

were up 3.3% from a year earlier before seasonal adjustment. Pending    

home sales rose 1.5% in June, suggesting existing home sales could see a

rebound in July. Supply fell 0.5% in June and was down 7.1% from a year 

earlier, an indication of that supply shortage continues.               

Durable Goods Orders for July (percent change)                          

 Friday, August 25 at 8:30 a.m. ET                       Actual:        

               Median        Range                   Jul17  Jun17  May17

 New Orders     -6.1%    -8.4% to -5.5%                 --  +6.4%   Flat

 Ex-Transport   +0.4%    -0.5% to +0.8%                 --  +0.1%  +0.8%

     Comments: Durable goods orders are expected to fall by 6.1% in July

after a 6.4% surge in June. Boeing orders fell back to 22 after jumping 

to 184 in June, suggesting aircraft orders should reverse sharply.      

Orders excluding transportation are expected to increase 0.4% after a   

0.1% increase in June.                                                  

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: holly.stokes@marketnews.com

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