The total number of out-of-work Americans covered by unemployment insurance during the week ending July 13 dropped to 2,997,000, a decline of 119,000 from the precious week’s revised level of 3,116,000, the Administration also reported. The four-week moving average was 3,023,250, a gain of 2,500 from the prior week’s average of 3,020,750.

Looking at manufacturing, new orders for durable goods placed in June grew by $9.9 billion (4.2 percent) over May to $244.5 billion, according to last week’s report from the Census Bureau. Orders were up up four of the last five months, and June’s gain followed a 5.2-percent increase in May. This marked the highest level since the series was first published in 1992.

Orders for transportation good were a key driver in June, growing by $9.9 billion (12.8 percent) to $87.1 billion. June’s inventory of durable goods in June notched up $0.7 billion (0.2 percent) to $378.0 billion, which also marked the highest level since the series was first published.

This week, we can expect:

Tuesday — July consume confidence scores from The Conference Board.

Wednesday — Advance gross domestic product scores for the second quarter from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Thursday — Initial jobless claims for last week from the Employment and Training Administration; June construction spending from the Census Bureau; July car and truck sales from the auto makers.

Friday — July unemployment rate, payrolls, hourly earnings and average workweek from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; June personal income and spending from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

via Economic Advisor – Weekly Update – robertjrussellcompanies@gmail.com – Gmail.