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The US House Price Index fell 0.1% month-on-month in March to 436.6, below the flat forecast of 436.8, while year-on-year growth slowed to 3.7% from 3.9%, indicating a modest cooling in housing market appreciation.

Durable goods orders fell 6.3% month-on-month in April, narrower than the 7.6% drop forecast and reversing March’s 7.6% gain. Excluding defense, orders tumbled 7.5% MoM after a 9.0% surge. Core capital goods orders—which strip out defense and aircraft—rose 0.2%, beating estimates for a 0.1% decline and rebounding from a 0.2% drop. Non-defense goods orders excluding aircraft slipped 1.3%, missing the 0.3% expected gain.

Home Depot (HD) reported Q1 2025 earnings of $3.56 per share, just below the expected $3.59. However, revenue came in ahead of forecasts at $39.86 billion, compared to the anticipated $39.25 billion. With total assets standing at $360.51 billion, Home Depot continues to show stable performance despite headwinds from softer housing and renovation activity.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reports the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 6.92%, from 6.86% the prior week. Mortgage applications fell 5.1% week-over-week, reversing a 1.1% gain. The MBA Purchase Index dipped to 157.8 from 166.5, and the overall Mortgage Market Index slid to 238.5 from 251.2. Meanwhile, the Refinance Index dropped to 682.5 from 718.1, highlighting a pullback in refinancing activity amid rising borrowing costs.

The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index fell 1.0% month-on-month in April, steeper than the 0.7% forecast and deeper than March’s 0.8% decline, suggesting further weakening in growth momentum ahead.

Foreign buying of U.S. Treasury bonds jumped to $123.3 billion in March, up from $106.2 billion in February. Overall net capital inflows rose to $254.3 billion, from $248.9 billion.

TIC data show net long-term transactions excluding swaps at $161.8 billion—well above the $44.2 billion forecast and up from $112.9 billion in February. Including swaps, long-term cross-border flows also totaled $161.8 billion, compared with $112.9 billion last month.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow model projects U.S. real GDP growth for the second quarter at 2.4%, down from 2.5% in the prior update and in line with consensus, suggesting a slight cooling in early-quarter economic momentum.

On May 16, 2025, the University of Michigan’s monthly survey showed that 1-year inflation expectations climbed to 7.3%, up from 6.5% in April, while 5-year expectations increased to 4.6% from 4.4%. Consumer expectations for personal finances dipped to 46.5 (versus 48.0 forecast and 47.3 prior), and the overall Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 50.8, below the 53.1 consensus and down from 52.2. Meanwhile, the Current Conditions Index eased to 57.6 from 59.8, underscoring growing concerns over near-term inflation despite still-elevated confidence in present conditions.

Statistics Canada reported that non-residents sold a net C$4.23 billion of Canadian securities in March, reversing February’s C$10.45 billion net sell-off but missing expectations for a C$5.20 billion net purchase. Meanwhile, Canadian investors purchased C$15.63 billion of foreign securities, down from C$23.86 billion in February, indicating a pullback in outbound portfolio flows.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that housing starts rose 1.6% month-on-month in April, rebounding from March’s 10.1% plunge. Total starts reached 1.361 million units, slightly above the 1.360 million expected and up from 1.339 million in March, highlighting continued resilience in the residential construction sector.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Export Price Index rose 2.0% year-on-year in April, slowing from a 2.4% gain in March. Month-on-month, export prices edged up 0.1%, defying expectations for a 0.5% decline and matching the prior month’s 0.1% increase.

Meanwhile, the Import Price Index was up 0.1% year-on-year in April, down from a 0.9% rise in March. On a monthly basis, import prices also rose 0.1%, beating forecasts for a 0.4% drop and reversing a 0.4% decline in March.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that building permits dropped 4.7% month-on-month in April, defying forecasts of a 1.9% increase and marking the first decline in three months. Total permits for new housing units came in at 1.412 million, below the 1.450 million expected and down from March’s 1.481 million, pointing to a sharp cooldown in the residential construction pipeline.