Mortgage Market Movements

• Mortgage application submissions increased 1.4% during the week ending 1/7. The Refinance Index slipped 0.1% but the Purchase Index saw a gain of 2%.
• The consumer price index increased 0.5% month-over-month in December after rising 0.8% in November. Over the last 12 months, the consumer price index increased 7% before seasonal adjustment. The core consumer price index (stripping food and energy) rose 0.6%, following a 0.5% increase in November.
• Initial jobless claims increased for the second consecutive week, rising to a level of 230,000 during the week ending 1/8. Continuing jobless claims fell to a level of 1.56 million during the week ending 1/2.
• Retail sales fell 1.9% month-over-month in December. Year-over-year, retail sales increased 16.95%, a slower increase than the previous month.

This information is courtesy of Michelle Shaman at CMG Financial.