There will be a very light week with the Holiday season approaching. The only notable reports to have come out for the week are the U.S. economic leading indicators, with nothing scheduled around Thanksgiving weekend. The median forecast for the leading indicators has shown that with the rest of the CPI and PPI data among other economic statistics, the economy does seem to be heading towards a soft landing as the Federal Reserve had initially targeted. The most notable changes are lending partners cutting rates with the potential for shifting economic policies and rate cuts in the future.

U.S. Leading Economic Indicators

The numbers: The leading economic index declined 0.8% in October and fell for the 19th month in a row, but the U.S. economy doesn’t appear any closer to a recession than when the losing streak began.

Primary Mortgage Market Survey Index

The last 4 weeks have seen a week-to-week decline in rates.

• 15-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.09% with the current rate at 6.67%.
• 30-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.15% with the current rate at 7.29%.

MND Rate Index

• 30-Yr FHA rates decreased week-to-week, and we’re seeing a -0.12% decrease for this week. Current rates at 6.65%.
• 30-Yr VA rates decreased week-to-week, and we’re seeing a -0.13% decrease for this week. Current rates at 6.65%
  

Jobless Claims
U.S. jobless claims drop to a five-week low of 209,000.
Initial Claims have decreased to 209,000 compared to the expected claims of 229,000. The prior week was 218,000.

What’s Ahead
With Thanksgiving in the rearview, we are also looking at many Federal Reserve chairmen speaking next week along with Q3 GDP data release reports. There is also Personal Income Spending and PCE Index which will demonstrate the strength of the economy at a personal level. Lastly, ISM manufacturing is a small but still worthwhile report to indicate production capacity for many trade aspects.