In the US session Building Permits, Housing Starts and Consumer Sentiment figures were published. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,396,000. This is 7.4 percent above the revised December rate of 1,300,000 and is 7.4 percent above the January 2017 rate of 1,300,000. Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 866,000; this is 1.7 percent below the revised December figure of 881,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 479,000 in January. Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,326,000.
U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in February to the second-highest level since 2004 as tax cuts and a strong job market helped Americans shrug off stock-market volatility, a University of Michigan survey showed Friday. Sentiment index rose to 99.9 (est. 95.5), highest since October’s 13-year high, from 95.7 in January. Current conditions gauge, which measures Americans’ perceptions of their finances, climbed to 115.1 from 110.5. Expectations measure advanced to 90.2 from 86.3. Year-ahead inflation expectations unchanged at 2.7%.
There will be no major data releases both from Australia and USA on Monday so we can expect a bit steadier session.
