Something for your Espresso: The weather decides whether we should be scared..
The building materials component of retail sales surprised markedly on the low side in May, housing starts plummeted 5.5% in May, and job openings in construction look weaker. All weak signs for the cycle, BUT! Take a look at the storm center report on severe weather in May relative to the rest of the year.
We have seen an extraordinary number of severe weather events in May this year, especially compared to June, which has been much more benign. It’s too early to conclude that construction is weakening. This may be very weather-related. We will share the full data studies ASAP.
Chart 1a: Weak May in housing related retail sales..
Data for May looked weak across all construction categories in the US, but it is important to note that the weather may have played a major role in this weakness. Meanwhile, there are signs of a rebounding European/UK consumer market.
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