Higher Mortgage Rates Weighed on Home Prices, According to S&P Case-Shiller

U.S. Treasury yields and the major stock market averages showed little change after the S&P Case-Shiller report showed home price gains weakened sharply to end 2022.

Higher mortgage rates weighed on home price gains at the end of 2022. While prices were still higher than they were a year earlier, the rate of increase slowed quickly, according to data released Tuesday, CNBC reported.

Home prices in December were 5.8% higher than the previous December, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index. That is down from a 7.6% annual gain in November. Prices are now 4.4% below their June peak.

For all of 2022, the 5.8% price gain was the 15^th best performance in the index’s 35-year history, but was well below 2021’s record-setting 18.9% gain.

US Trade Deficit Expands to $91.5B in January

The United States international trade goods deficit in January grew to $91.5 billion, up $1.8 billion from $89.7 billion registered a month prior, the country’s Census Bureau revealed in a preliminary report on Tuesday.

US Wholesale Inventories Fell in January

In January, advanced wholesale inventories fell 0.4% month on month to $929.7 billion, but jumped 15.9% year on year. Advanced retail inventories saw a 0.3% rise compared to December 2022, going up to $743.1 billion, which is equal to a 12% growth on an annual basis.