July housing Starts: 1.155M vs. 1.225M expected and 1.215M prior.
Building permits 1.223M vs. 1.246M expected.
MBA Mortgage Applications
Composite Index: +0.1% vs. +3.0% last week.
Purchase Index: -2.0% vs. +1.0%.
Refinance Index: +2.0% vs. +5.0%
30 year mortgage rate at 4.12% vs. 4.14% last week.
China has reclaimed it’s position as the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, displacing Japan which had held the top spot since October.
It’s increased its holdings for the fifth straight month, buying $44.3B of Treasuries in June for a total of $1.147T.