Economic indicators

A second straight month of stagnant orders for business equipment in April indicates investment in capital goods could slow in the second quarter, Commerce Department data showed Friday.

First quarter GDP growth was revised up to a 1.2% pace in the second estimate from the 0.7% gain in the advance estimate, with upward revisions seen for every component except for inventory growth, data released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed.

The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion of seven-year notes, with a 2% coupon and a 2.060% high yield, a price of 99.610738.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 to 234,000 in the May 20 week, below the 235,000 level analysts expected, but still near the decades-low levels seen in recent weeks, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.

Most Federal Reserve officials judged “it would soon be appropriate” to tighten monetary policy again and backed a plan that would gradually shrink their $4.5 trillion balance sheet.

The Treasury Department auctioned $34 billion of five-year notes, with a 1 3/4% coupon, a 1.831% high yield, a price of 99.614668.

The Treasury Department Wednesday auctioned $13 billion of two-year floating rate notes with a high discount margin of 0.050%, at a 0.070% spread, a price of 100.038573.

April existing home sales lagged expectations slightly after the March 10-year high, and the tight supply of houses is still generating "frenzied" buying activity in many areas, bidding prices up, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

The number of U.S. building permits issued in April was unrevised at a decrease of 2.5% to a 1.228 million unit annual rate, the Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census said Wednesday.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $26 billion of two-year notes with a 1 1/4% coupon at a 1.316% yield, a price of 99.870143.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $20 billion of 364-day bills at a 1.145% high yield, a price of 98.842278.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $55 billion of four-week bills at a 0.735% high yield, a price of 99.924833.

The pace of new single-family home sales dropped to a lower-than-expected 569,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in April from March's near 10-year high, but followed upward revisions to the sales pace in each of the previous three months, data released by the Commerce Department Tuesday showed.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher, as the three-months incurred a 0.920% high rate, up from 0.905% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 1.050% high rate, up from 1.020% the week before.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $55 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

The Treasury Department sold $11 billion of inflation-indexed 9-year, 8-month TIPs at a 0.420% high yield, an adjusted price of 100.496978, with a 3/8% coupon.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.3% in April following a revised 0.3% increase in March, first reported as a 0.4% gain, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded in May, but at a faster pace than in April, as the general business conditions index increased to 38.8 from 22.0 in April, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 to 232,000 in the May 13 employment survey week, below the 240,000 level analysts expected, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.

Industrial production grew 1.0% in April, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.