Furniture World News
MONTHLY RESULTS
New Orders
New orders were up 17% in November compared to November 2019 according to our latest survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors. This increase followed five months of significant increases beginning with June’s 30% increase, 39% in July, 51% in August, 43% in September and 40% in October. From conversations we had, we expected the increases to begin to slow and the November results proved that to be in line. About three quarters of the participants reported increases in orders over last November, in line with October results.
The November increase left the year to date increase at 14%. For the 11 months ended November, some 66% of the participants reported increased year to date orders, up from 59% reporting increases last month.
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It seems like investors have plenty to mull over this morning, given the crazy action around apparent short squeezes, sobering comments about the economic recovery from the Federal Reserve, lofty stock valuations, and mixed economic news.
The government’s first estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in under expectations, showing a 4% annualized gain when a Briefing.com consensus had forecast a rise of 4.4%. But weekly jobless claims data, a more up-to-date measure of economic health than the backwards-looking GDP print, came in better than expected, with initial claims coming in at 847,000 compared to 875,000 forecast in a Briefing.com consensus.
January 2021 Conference Board Consumer Confidence Improved
The latest
Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index s headline number improved moderately in January, after decreasing in December. The Index now stands at 89.3 (1985=100), up from 87.1 in December. A quote from the Conference Board:
. the percent of consumers who said they intend to purchase a home in the next six months improved, suggesting that the pace of home sales should remain robust in early 2021 .
Analyst Opinion of Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Consumer confidence had been steady for the previous two years - but the coronavirus killed the upswing. Consumer confidence is as low as seen in 2014.
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The ECB expressed concerns about the exchange rate, will analyse the impact of policies’ imbalances.
US Consumer Confidence improved modestly in January to 89.3.
EUR/USD is neutral in the near-term, faces strong resistance in the 1.2180 region.
A better market sent EUR/USD to a daily high of 1.2175. However, investors remain cautious ahead of first-tier events in the US to be released later in the week, and doubts about further US stimulus, as President Joe Biden’s plan faces opposition in Congress. Also, concerns gyrate around delays in vaccines’ delivery in Europe. The market mood suffered a setback mid-US afternoon, after the ECB expressed concerns about the exchange rate, and would study the impact of ECB vs Fed policy on it.