New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods were virtually unchanged in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders came in flat in August after soaring by 9.9 percent in July. Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 2.6 percent.
Excluding a decrease in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July. Ex-transportation orders were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.
A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended September 21st.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 222,000.
The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 225,000 from the 219,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.
The Commerce Department also released a report on Thursday showing gross domestic product jumped by 3.0 percent in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous estimate.
At 9:10 am ET, Boston Federal Reserve Bank Susan Collins is due to host a fireside chat with Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler on the intersection between bank supervision and financial inclusion as part of the Boston Fed’s Financial Inclusion and Banking Supervision Workshop.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy before the Mid-Sized Bank Coalition of America Board of Directors Workshop at 9:15 am ET.
At 9:20 am ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to deliver opening remarks before the 2024 Treasury Market Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is scheduled to speak before the 2024 Treasury Market Conference at 9:25 am ET.
At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on pending home sales in the month of August. Pending home sales are expected to surge by 3.1 percent in August after plunging by 5.5 percent in July.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is scheduled to speak before the 2024 Treasury Market Conference at 10:30 am ET.
Also at 10:30 am ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook is due to participate in an “Artificial Intelligence and Workforce Development” roundtable discussion with Community Stakeholders hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Columbus State Community College.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Neel Kashkari is scheduled to host a fireside chat with Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr for the Boston Fed’s Financial Inclusion and Banking Supervision Workshop at 1 pm ET.
Also at 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook is scheduled to give a lecture on “Artificial Intelligence and the Labor Force” before the Ohio State University President and Provost’s Diversity Lecture and Cultural Arts Series at 6 pm ET.