Sales of newly built homes in the US rose for the third month in a row in March, reaching their highest level in almost one and a half years. Figures released this week by the Commerce Department showed that sales of newly built single-family homes – a relatively small portion of total home sales – rose by 4.5 per cent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 692,000. That was the highest level since November 2017 and confounded economists who expected a 2.5 per cent decline.

The rise in new home sales was driven by sales gains in most parts of the country. However, during the same month, the median selling price of a new home tumbled by 9.7 per cent to $302,700. Earlier in the week, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales dropped by 4.9 per cent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.21 million units last month.

Meanwhile, key gauges of confidence among German business leaders fell to its lowest level in three years, a closely-watched survey conducted in April showed. The Munich-based Ifo Institute said that its business confidence index fell by 0.5 points to 99.2, reversing half the first increase in six months registered in March. “Companies are less happy with their present business situation, and the slight optimism for the months ahead from March has dissipated,” Ifo chief Clemens Fuest commented.

The figures reflected a continued split in the German economy, with judgements of both the present situation and expectations for the coming months getting darker among manufacturing firms, which are more reliant on exports, leaving them vulnerable to upsets in global trade and slowdowns in emerging markets like China.

Finally, in the UK, households reported the strongest growth in their earnings from work in at least a decade, suggesting that consumers and their spending can keep on underpinning the economy as the country’s politicians struggle to leave the European Union. The Household Finance Index compiled by IHS Markit rose to 44.0 in April from 43.4 in March. “Overall, April data suggest the downbeat consumer sentiment story in the UK could turnaround in the coming months if trends in wages and job security remain accommodative, helping to drive domestic expenditure”, Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit said.

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