Hump day data roundup: Import prices cool, mortgage rates heat up
S&P 500, Dow green; Nasdaq ~unchanged
Utilities lead S&P 500 sectors gainers; Staples weakest group
Euro STOXX 600 off ~0.1%
Dollar, gold gain; bitcoin up ~2%; crude off ~1%
U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield dips to ~4.00%
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HUMP DAY DATA ROUNDUP: IMPORT PRICES COOL, MORTGAGE RATES HEAT UP
Data on Wednesday showed a decrease in import and export prices but a surge in the cost of financing home loans.
The cost of goods and services imported to the United States USIMP=ECI fell by 0.4% last month, accelerating from the 0.2% drop in August.
The number, which showed the largest monthly decline in nine months, hit the consensus nail on the head.
The Labor Department's report also showed export prices dropped by 0.7%, a shallower reading that August's 0.9% drop but steeper than the 0.4% decline analysts expected.
Year-on-year import and export prices are down 0.1% and 2.1%, respectively.
Drilling down, the 7.1% monthly drop in petroleum prices was responsible for the decline; ex petroleum prices actually rose 0.2%. Food/feed/drink and industrial supply items also fell, by 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively.
"Import prices do not feed through directly to producer and consumer prices but are a signal inflationary pressures remain muted and adds some support to another rate cut in November," says Matthew Martin, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.
While the series is the only inflation indicator actually showing an annual decline, it is subject to things such as foreign demand and currency exchange rates.
Here's a look at year-on-year import export prices against the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of world currencies:
Elsewhere, the cost of financing home loans jumped last week, prompting a jumbo-sized 17% drop in mortgage applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The average 30-year fixed contract rate USMG=ECI surged 16 basis points to 6.52%, the highest its been since X.
Would-be borrowers had no bid for the higher rate; demand for loans to purchase homes USMGPI=ECI slid 7.2%, while refi applications USMGR=ECI - which had seen a resurgence of late - plummeted 26.3%.
"The recent uptick in rates has put a damper on applications," says Joel Kan, MBA’s deputy chief economist. "Demand is holding up to an extent for prospective first-time buyers ... because of improving housing inventory conditions."
Even with the latest surge, the 30-year fixed rate remains 1.18 percentage points cooler than it was during the same week last year. Over the same time period, purchase applications are up 6.6%, while refi demand has soared 111.3%.
(Stephen Culp)
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FOR WEDNESDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
U.S. STOCKS INCH HIGHER EARLY; FINANCIALS GAIN - CLICK HERE
S&P 500 INDEX HURDLES STACKED UP AROUND 6K - CLICK HERE
BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT BRITISH SERVICES INFLATION DATA - BOFA - CLICK HERE
INVESTING IN BRITAIN PLC? IT'S "NOT STRAIGHTFORWARD" - CLICK HERE
CONFIDENCE AROUND FRENCH BANKS ON SHAKY GROUND - CLICK HERE
US DEBT IS A 'REST OF THE WORLD' PROBLEM ... FOR NOW - CLICK HERE
LUXURY AND TECH WEIGH ON STOXX - CLICK HERE
MIXED BAG IN EUROPE AS EARNINGS SOUR MOOD - CLICK HERE
CHIPS AND LUXURY LEAD THE WAY LOWER - CLICK HERE
Early snapshot https://tmsnrt.rs/4h5wFQt
Import and export prices and the dollar https://reut.rs/3Uc5f1k
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