Banca March: The most recent US economic data are disappointing. Consumer confidence fell more than expected in September, falling to 103 from 108.7 (which was revised upwards). Moreover, this development was due to an improvement in the current situation reading, but the expectations component deteriorated sharply to 73.7 from 83.3 previously.
On the other hand, in the real estate sector, sales are falling, but prices are holding up. In August, new home sales fell by -8.7% month-on-month compared to +8% in the previous month and now stand at 675,000 annualised units compared to 739,000 in the previous month. However, in terms of prices, as measured by the S&P Case-Shiller index of the top 20 cities recorded a +0.9% monthly advance in July, returning the index to a positive nominal growth of +0.1% versus the same month last year.
