Inflation Alert! US Producer Prices Come In Hotter Than Expected (+7.8% YoY), Annualized Run Rate Is 12%!

Well, economists were expecting a 7.2% YoY print of the Producer Price Index – Final Demand. But July’s print came in hot … at +7.8% YoY. Compare that with the Core Consumer Price Index YoY of +4.3%.

The month-over-month PPI Final Demand is showing a run rate of 12%! (1% in July x 12 months).

Alarm! Gold And Cryptos Rise As Covid Spreads (Again)

The Covid Delta Variant seems to be picking up steam, we are seeing “flight to safety” assets other than Treasuries rising.

Gold and Silver experienced some serious corrections last week, perhaps because things were looking up. Then we saw Anthony Fauci scaring everyone about Covid … again. So, there is enormous uncertainty about how this will play out. In other words, ALARM!

Bitcoin and Ethereum have been climbing since Gold and Silver corrected last week. But both are up this week, particularly Gold.

The US Dollar is down slightly since the same time last year and M2 Money Stock growth has slowed.

Here is a chart showing another fear factor: the rise of the Covid Delta Variant. Deaths are only 1.7% of confirmed cases (if we believe the actual cause of death).

New York City MSA Rents Fall YoY For First Time Since 1958 (And Ike!) Northern NJ And Long Island Too

Rents in the New York City metropolitan statistical area — which also encompasses northern New Jersey and Long Island — dropped in the 12 months through July for the first time since 1958, according to monthly data on consumer prices published Wednesday by the Labor Department. Before that, the series indicates rents in the region hadn’t fallen on a year-over-year basis since 1934. The figures underscore the historic nature of the pandemic and its impact on the U.S. economy.

On the other hand, New York City home prices are growing at a +15.3% YoY pace.

Apparently, in 1958 Americans liked Ike, but didn’t like living in New York City.

Mortgage Purchase Applications Rise 1% From Previous Week, But Down 18% From Last Year Thanks To Unaffordable Home Prices

Simply unaffordable is what singer Robert Palmer would say. Homes, that is.

Mortgage applications increased 2.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 6, 2021.

The Refinance Index increased 3 percent from the previous week and was 8 percent lower than the same week one year ago. But recent declines in mortgage rates have produced a mini-refi wave (pink box).

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 18 percent lower than the same week one year ago. But rapidly rising home prices have cooled mortgage purchase applications since the beginning of 2021.

Here is the data from the MBA showing a rise in mortgage applications from the previous week of 2.79%.

Inflation report coming up next!