Economic indicators

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region “expanded at a slower pace with solid expectations for future activity” in April, according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

Pending home sales decreased 0.8% to an index reading of 111.4 in March, after an unrevised 5.5% rise to 112.3 in February, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.

The value of durable goods new orders rose 0.7% in March, considerably below the expected 1.5%, but were down 0.2% excluding transportation after five consecutive drops, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday showed.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits saw an unexpected 14,000 rise to 257,000, 12,000 higher than the 245,000 analysts expected, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.

Texas service sector activity “increased in April, albeit at a slower pace than in March,” according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey.

Service sector activity “improved notably in April,” according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturers in the central Atlantic region “were upbeat again in April,” according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index dipped to 20 in April from 22 in March.

The consumer confidence index decreased to 120.3 in April from a revised 124.9 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The pace of new single-family home sales surged to a much stronger-than-expected 621,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, following mixed revisions to the January and February sales pace, data released by the Commerce Department Tuesday showed.

The S&P/Case-Shiller seasonally adjusted 20-city composite index rose 0.7% in February, unadjusted the index was up 0.4%.

The region's non-manufacturing sector “continued to expand,” this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business, released Tuesday, indicates.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, “increased for the 10th consecutive month in April,” according to the monthly Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

GDP and profits are expected to continue growing, a study out Monday shows.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March decreased to 0.08 from a downwardly revised 0.27 in February, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

Puerto Rico got positive revenue and economic news for March.

Existing home sales gained 4.4% to a seasonally adjusted 5.71 million-unit rate in March from a revised 3.9% decline to 5.47 million sales pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.4% in March following a revised 0.5% increase in February, first reported as a 0.6% gain, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded in April, but at a slower pace than in March,this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits rose by 10,000 to 244,000 in the week ended April 15, slightly ahead of the 242,000 level analysts expected, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.

The Federal Reserve's latest report of economic conditions Wednesday found all 12 regional Fed districts reporting their regional economies cruising along at a modest or moderate pace, with businesses remaining optimistic on growth in the face of continued policy uncertainty.