New-home sales surge to 10-year high as personal income and spending rise
WASHINGTON -- The economy keeps percolating along at a steady clip, a series of new statistics released yesterday suggest.</br></br>New-home sales in August jumped 4.7% from July's strong level and hit the highest annual rate in more than a decade, the Commerce Department said. Separately, the agency reported that personal spending and personal income each rose a healthy 0.6% in August, following minuscule increases in July.</br></br>Most economists still expect the economy's growth rate for the third quarter, which will be announced later this month, was slower than the torrid 4.7% pace in the second quarter. But a raft of buoyant economic reports, including yesterday's figures, is encouraging some analysts to temper their predictions of a downturn.</br></br>"The momentum is quite healthy," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Norwest Corp. in Minneapolis. "People were probably underestimating the strength of the third quarter."</br></br>A clearer picture of the economy's vitality will emerge today, with the announcement of two closely watched monthly indexes. The National Association of Purchasing Management will release its survey of the manufacturing sector, and the Conference Board will publish its index of leading economic indicators.