A look at some of the top business events and economic indicators out this week:
The Department of Commerce released its January balance sheet of US retail sales on Wednesday.
In December, sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% compared to the previous month. Sales also declined in October and November, although retailers launched sales months earlier than usual during the Christmas season. Economists believe January retail sales lost their three-month losing streak. They forecast that sales were up 1.1% from the previous month.
Retail sales, monthly percentage change, seasonally adjusted:
Economists expect the pace of new home construction projects started slowing last month after hitting a 14-year high in December.
They estimate that U.S. home construction reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.65 million in January. That would be a decrease of around 1.67 million in December. Record-low mortgage rates and the exodus of Americans to bigger houses, better suited for home offices during the pandemic, have fueled demand and led to more housing construction. The trading department delivers its data on Thursday for the January launches.
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