Weekly Preview: Construction, retail, manufacturing, jobs

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Feb 13, 2012

by Chris Billman

After a relatively quiet session, February starts to pick up this week. Not only do we get some key demand indicators, but also some important economic ones as well.
Here is what I am watching:

Thursday brings us the housing starts data from January. After declining 4.1% in December, it will be key for the construction sector for housing starts to get back on track. Although January is a seasonally slow time for construction, any boost to starts will be positive.
Wednesday and Thursday bring us manufacturing indicators with the Empire State Mfg. Survey and the Philadelphia Fed Survey. These two surveys measure the manufacturing in the key areas of New York and Philadelphia.
On Thursday and Friday we get inflation data - the Producer Price Index on Thursday and the Consumer Price Index on Friday.
Retail Sales from January are out on Tuesday and after a disappointing 0.1% increase in December; any boost in retail sales will be a positive indicator of increasing consumer confidence.
The Weekly Initial Jobless Claims report is out on Thursday as well and after another solid decrease last week, the employment situation looks for another strong reading to indicate stabilization.

I will be attending the MSCI Carbon Conference in San Diego at the end of this week and if any of you are in attendance I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you. As always, you can stay up to date throughout the week by following the CORE Blog.

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Ever-increasing market volatility within the steel industry creates a heightened need to understand current economic trends. Majestic Steel Research distributes timely economic information and analysis, allowing Majestic Steel USA to be agile in a competitive marketplace, make wise purchasing decisions for ourselves and our customers, and drive valuable conversation in the industry.

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