DOW – 44 = 17,985
SPX – 2 = 2097
NAS + 18 = 4924
10 YR YLD + .04 = 2.11%
OIL – .77 = 51.37
GOLD – 6.10 = 1208.20
SILV – .12 = 16.48
The S&P 500 is up 5.2 percent in February, rebounding from a January slump. If the index holds those gains it will be the best monthly performance since October 2011.
Crude-oil futures fell to the lowest level in a week, after data showed inventories have built up much faster than expected. According to a report from the American Petroleum Institute late yesterday, US crude stocks rose by 14.3 million barrels last week vs. expectations of a 3.2 million. The today the US Energy Information Administration released a report showing crude inventories rose 7.7 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 13; that was about double expectations, but far less than the API report. And prices bounced back.
The latest EIA data peg total commercial crude inventories at 425 million barrels, with the government referring to the total as “the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.†One possible reason for the rising inventories is that there has been a United Steelworkers strike at 11 refineries that account for 13% of US output capacity.  A slowdown in refining would lessen the demand for crude oil. Another possible reason why inventories continue to rise is that most domestic oil drillers have taken on debt, and they have to keep pumping oil to service that debt, at least for now.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, offering fresh evidence that the labor market was gathering steam. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 283,000 for the week ended Feb. 14.
Leading U.S. economic indicators edged up 0.2% in January, and the December index was revised lower to 0.4%. The Conference Board said the lack of strong momentum in residential construction, along with a weak outlook for new orders in manufacturing, poses a downside risk for the US economy.
The Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) reports that for the second consecutive month, inventory in the Phoenix residential real estate market was down year-over-year. Active inventory is now down 4.9% year-over-year. Housing prices bottomed in Phoenix is 2011 at about the current level of inventory. Overall sales in January were down 0.3% year-over-year. And cash sales were down 12% to 32% of total sales. Now, with tighter inventory, we might see a little more price appreciation in 2015.
Greece has submitted a formal request for a six-month loan extension, and it looks like the new Greek government blinked; they pledged to abide by all its previous commitments and recognize the bailout as legally binding. However, the wording of its first point implied that Greece wants to haggle over implementing reforms demanded by the original bailout agreement. Even so, the request is still a major climbdown for the new government, led by Tsipras’ radical left-wing Syriza party, which swept to power on a pledge to overthrow the bailout agreement in January and subsequently declared it “deadâ€. It pledges to honor all of Greece’s debts and, just as importantly, to continue accepting monitoring visits from the three institutions that have overseen Athens’ implementation of the bailout to date, the hated “troika†of European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.
