Brief
This report covers the 48th week of the year spanning Friday, November 24th, through Friday, December 1st, 2023. The week in numbers provides key statistics and data, economic reports, market performance and fun science stats for the week.
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Highlights
- Continuing Jobless Claims jump to 1,927,000, a high not seen since November 2021
- The US Average Regular Gas price has fallen 10 consecutive weeks from $3.878 to 3.238 a gallon
- The US National Debt has increased 2.38 Trillion since the National Debt ceiling was suspended on June 1st, 2023
- NASA Confirmed and Cataloged 11 new exoplanet this week
- 30yr Average Mortgage rates decline for 5th consecutive week, falling from 7.79% on Oct 26th to 7.22% Nov 30th
- US Stocks rise an average of 1.15% this week
- The Real Estate sector gained the most this week, up 4.64%
- Solana (SOL) remains the best performing major crypto YTD up 500.2%
View our Economic Indicators Dashboard for up-to-date economic stats.
Economic Reports
Monday, November 27th
- New Home Sales for October increased 679K, less than the expected increase of 720K and less than last month’s increase of 719K
Tuesday, November 28th
- Consumer Confidence for November was 102.0, more than the expected 100.0 and more than last month’s 99.1
Wednesday, November 29th
- Initial Jobless Claims for last week increased by 7,000 to 218,000 new claims, slightly higher than the expected 215,000
- Continuing Jobless Claims increased by 86,000 to 1.93 million
- GDP – Second Estimate for Q3 increased to 5.2%, more than the expected increase of 4.9% and more than last quarter’s increase of 4.9%
- GDP Deflator – Second Estimate for Q3 increased to 3.6%, less than the expected increase of 3.8% and more than last quarter’s increase of 3.5%
Thursday, November 30th
- Personal Income for October increased 0.2%, less than the expected increase of 0.2% and less than last month’s increase of 0.4%
- Personal Spending for October increased 0.2%, matching expectations but less than last month’s increase of 0.7%
- PCE Prices for October were unchanged, less than the expected increase of 0.1% and less than last month’s increase of 0.4%
- PCE Prices – Core for October increased 0.2%, matching expectations and less than last month’s increase of 0.3%
Friday, December 1st
- ISM Manufacturing Index for November was 46.7%, less than the expected 47.5% staying the same as last month’s 46.7%
Next Week’s Major Reports
- ISM-Non-Manufacturing – Tuesday, December 5th
- JOLTS – Job Openings – Wednesday, December 6th
- Consumer Credit – Thursday, December 7th
- Nonfarm Payroll – Friday, December 8th
- Unemployment Rate – Friday, December 8th
- Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment – Prelim – Friday, December 8th
See more Economic News at Briefing.com or learn about each economic report in our knowledge hub.
US Stocks
| Index | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | 36,245.50 | 855.35 | 2.42% | 35,280.57 | 36,264.85 | 9.35% | ||
| Nasdaq | 14,305.03 | 54.18 | 0.38% | 14,127.06 | 14,423.22 | 36.67% | ||
| S&P 500 | 4,594.63 | 35.29 | 0.77% | 4,537.24 | 4,599.39 | 19.67% | ||
| Wilshire 5000 | 45,347.68 | 513.96 | 1.15% | 44,743.34 | 45,347.68 | 19.10% |
| Index | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Services | 234.23 | -5.99 | -2.49% | 234.23 | 239.86 | 46.97% | ||
| Consumer Discretionary | 1,353.94 | 19.80 | 1.48% | 1,336.71 | 1,353.94 | 34.66% | ||
| Consumer Staples | 747.05 | 4.11 | 0.55% | 738.13 | 747.05 | -4.12% | ||
| Energy | 644.36 | -0.72 | -0.11% | 637.21 | 644.36 | -4.16% | ||
| Financials | 599.47 | 12.27 | 2.09% | 584.95 | 599.47 | 5.22% | ||
| Health Care | 1,532.57 | 7.33 | 0.48% | 1,507.92 | 1,532.57 | -3.34% | ||
| Industrials | 917.07 | 19.22 | 2.14% | 890.49 | 917.07 | 10.30% | ||
| Information Technology | 3,278.62 | 10.96 | 0.34% | 3,269.10 | 3,278.62 | 50.94% | ||
| Materials | 522.84 | 13.08 | 2.57% | 509.33 | 522.84 | 6.80% | ||
| Real Estate | 237.93 | 10.54 | 4.64% | 228.25 | 237.93 | 2.39% | ||
| Utilities | 320.51 | 4.01 | 1.27% | 315.29 | 320.51 | -10.59% |
Global Stocks
| Index | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK FTSE 100 | 7,529.35 | 41.15 | 0.55% | 7,387.09 | 7,538.71 | 1.04% | ||
| France CAC 40 | 7,346.15 | 53.35 | 0.73% | 7,213.74 | 7,360.10 | 13.48% | ||
| Spain IBEX 35 | 10,140.80 | 201.80 | 2.03% | 9,919.50 | 10,140.80 | 23.23% | ||
| Germany DAX 40 | 16,397.52 | 368.03 | 2.30% | 15,915.40 | 16,399.06 | 17.77% | ||
| India BSE Sensex | 67,481.19 | 1,511.15 | 2.29% | 65,906.65 | 67,564.33 | 10.91% | ||
| China Shanghai Comp | 3,031.64 | -9.33 | -0.31% | 3,010.23 | 3,039.69 | -1.87% | ||
| HK Hang Seng 50 | 16,830.30 | -729.12 | -4.15% | 16,830.30 | 17,677.52 | -14.92% | ||
| Japan Nikkei 225 | 33,431.51 | -194.02 | -0.58% | 33,161.07 | 33,811.41 | 28.12% | ||
| Australia ASX 200 | 7,073.20 | 32.40 | 0.46% | 6,985.50 | 7,087.30 | 0.49% |
Currencies
| Currency | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAD Canadian Dollar | 1.3498 | -0.0137 | -1.00% | 1.3488 | 1.3663 | -0.41% | ||
| MXN Mexican Peso | 17.1878 | 0.0698 | 0.41% | 17.0343 | 17.4985 | -11.80% | ||
| ARS Argentinian Peso | 360.85 | 3.33 | 0.93% | 355.54 | 362.56 | 104.17% | ||
| COP Colombian Peso | 3,962.50 | -78.00 | -1.93% | 3,930.50 | 4,058.13 | -18.28% | ||
| BRL Brazilian Real | 4.8805 | -0.0226 | -0.46% | 4.8581 | 4.9455 | -7.65% | ||
| GBP British Pound Sterling | 0.7867 | -0.0067 | -0.84% | 0.7863 | 0.7943 | -4.83% | ||
| EUR Euro | 0.9187 | 0.0052 | 0.57% | 0.9076 | 0.9234 | -1.68% | ||
| CHF Swiss Franc | 0.8692 | -0.0135 | -1.53% | 0.8678 | 0.8830 | -6.04% | ||
| CZK Czech Koruna | 22.3147 | 0.0187 | 0.08% | 21.9891 | 22.5097 | -1.12% | ||
| NOK Norwegian Krone | 10.7050 | -0.0199 | -0.19% | 10.5799 | 10.8295 | 9.13% | ||
| SEK Swedish Krona | 10.3961 | -0.0509 | -0.49% | 10.2779 | 10.5419 | -0.39% | ||
| RUB Russian Ruble | 91.23 | 1.95 | 2.18% | 87.87 | 91.23 | 23.70% | ||
| SAR Saudi Riyal | 3.7514 | 0.0008 | 0.02% | 3.7484 | 3.7561 | -0.18% | ||
| AED UAE Dirham | 3.6724 | -0.0004 | -0.01% | 3.6720 | 3.6732 | -0.01% | ||
| INR Indian Rupee | 83.18 | -0.13 | -0.16% | 83.11 | 83.43 | 0.52% | ||
| THB Thai Baht | 34.89 | -0.46 | -1.30% | 34.56 | 35.42 | 0.78% | ||
| SGD Singapore Dollar | 1.3335 | -0.0065 | -0.49% | 1.3283 | 1.3410 | -0.55% | ||
| MYR Malaysian Ringgit | 4.6730 | -0.0115 | -0.25% | 4.6385 | 4.6855 | 6.08% | ||
| CNH Chinese Yuan | 7.1242 | -0.0243 | -0.34% | 7.1125 | 7.1669 | 2.93% | ||
| HKD Hong Kong Dollar | 7.8146 | 0.0216 | 0.28% | 7.7861 | 7.8159 | 0.11% | ||
| KRW South Korean Won | 1,294.86 | -10.47 | -0.80% | 1,285.39 | 1,308.84 | 2.61% | ||
| JPY Japanese Yen | 146.81 | -2.64 | -1.77% | 146.66 | 149.67 | 11.97% | ||
| AUD Australian Dollar | 1.4984 | -0.0205 | -1.35% | 1.4970 | 1.5230 | 2.27% | ||
| NZD New Zealand Dollar | 1.6100 | -0.0358 | -2.18% | 1.6100 | 1.6502 | 2.24% |
* Rates are quoted as the amount of local currency to buy 1 US Dollar.
Commodities
- Average US Regular Gas Price – decreased 5.1 cents or -1.55% this week to $3.238 a gallon. See more about US Regular Gas Prices.
- EIA Crude Oil Inventories – increased by 1.6M barrels last week compared to prior week increase of 8.7M
- EIA Natural Gas Inventories – increased 10 bcf last week compared to prior week decrease of 7 bcf (billion cubic feet)
| Commodity | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2,089.70 | 86.70 | 4.33% | 2,001.40 | 2,095.70 | 14.43% | ||
| Silver | 25.86 | 1.52 | 6.23% | 24.32 | 25.94 | 7.56% | ||
| Platinum | 936.10 | -0.80 | -0.09% | 918.20 | 955.50 | -13.56% | ||
| Palladium | 1,010.40 | -64.80 | -6.03% | 996.00 | 1,088.50 | -43.80% |
| Commodity | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Oil | 74.07 | -1.47 | -1.95% | 73.93 | 79.60 | -7.71% | ||
| Natural Gas | 2.8140 | -0.1850 | -6.17% | 2.7540 | 2.9920 | -31.43% | ||
| Gasoline | 2.1211 | -0.0155 | -0.73% | 2.1128 | 2.2779 | -14.41% |
| Commodity | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumber | 525.50 | -26.00 | -4.71% | 522.50 | 553.00 | 40.62% | ||
| Steel (HRC) | 1,039.00 | -1.00 | -0.10% | 1,026.00 | 1,080.00 | 39.65% | ||
| Copper | 3.9315 | 0.1425 | 3.76% | 3.7520 | 3.9330 | 3.18% |
| Commodity | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | 4.8475 | 0.0225 | 0.47% | 4.7050 | 4.8950 | -28.56% | ||
| Wheat | 6.0275 | 0.2550 | 4.42% | 5.5625 | 6.1000 | -23.90% | ||
| Soybeans | 13.2500 | -0.0575 | -0.43% | 13.2350 | 13.5200 | -13.06% | ||
| Coffee | 1.8435 | 0.1620 | 9.63% | 1.6600 | 1.8850 | 10.19% | ||
| Sugar | 0.2509 | -0.0189 | -7.01% | 0.2495 | 0.2730 | 25.20% | ||
| Cocoa | 4,201.00 | 112.00 | 2.74% | 4,083.00 | 4,294.00 | 61.58% | ||
| Cotton | 0.7942 | -0.0157 | -1.94% | 0.7886 | 0.8099 | -4.74% |
| Commodity | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 1.6913 | -0.0185 | -1.08% | 1.6863 | 1.7388 | 7.11% | ||
| Lean Hogs | 0.7010 | 0.0133 | 1.93% | 0.6580 | 0.7200 | -20.07% | ||
| Feeder Cattle | 2.1443 | -0.0490 | -2.23% | 2.1213 | 2.2358 | 16.73% |
Interest Rates
- Federal Funds Effective Rate – has remained the same this week at 5.33% with the target rate rage increasing to 5.25-5.50% since the July 26th, 2023 increase of 25 basis points. See more about the Federal Funds Rate.
- 30 Year Average US Mortgage Rates – decreased this week to 7.22% from 7.29% last week. Learn more about 30 year mortgage rates.
- MBA Mortgage Applications Index – increased by 0.3% this week compared to the prior week increase of 3.0%
| Maturity | Week Close | Week Change | Low | Week Range | High | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 1 Month | 5.388% | -0.013% | 5.368% | 5.438% | ||
| US 3 Month | 5.380% | -0.040% | 5.370% | 5.431% | ||
| US 1 Year | 5.039% | -0.222% | 5.014% | 5.281% | ||
| US 5 Year | 4.134% | -0.358% | 1.301% | 4.533% | ||
| US 10 Year | 4.200% | -0.271% | 4.199% | 4.517% | ||
| US 30 Year | 4.386% | -0.217% | 4.386% | 4.640% |
Cryptocurrencies
- Total Crypto Market Cap – increased 1.3% or 18.7B this week to 1,456B
| Rank* | Crypto | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BTC | 38,658.06 | 947.26 | 2.51% | 36,754.04 | 38,959.11 | 133.62% | ||
| 2 | ETH | 2,088.14 | 5.03 | 0.24% | 1,994.75 | 2,111.78 | 74.48% | ||
| 3 | BNB | 228.61 | -4.27 | -1.83% | 223.27 | 235.77 | -7.20% | ||
| 4 | XRP | 0.6132 | -0.0094 | -1.51% | 0.5974 | 0.6371 | 80.40% | ||
| 5 | SOL | 59.78 | 2.89 | 5.08% | 53.72 | 61.69 | 500.15% | ||
| 6 | ADA | 0.3841 | -0.0022 | -0.57% | 0.3706 | 0.3956 | 55.82% | ||
| 7 | DOGE | 0.0838 | 0.0056 | 7.14% | 0.0763 | 0.0849 | 19.25% | ||
| 8 | TRX | 0.1035 | -0.0012 | -1.17% | 0.1003 | 0.1100 | 89.96% | ||
| 9 | AVAX | 21.86 | 0.99 | 4.74% | 19.56 | 22.59 | 100.59% | ||
| 10 | MATIC | 0.7985 | 0.0395 | 5.21% | 0.7294 | 0.7994 | 5.28% |
* Rank is based on market cap of non-stablecoins.
Fascinating Stats
US National Debt
The US National Debt increased 82.8 billion (Wednesday, November 22nd to Wednesday, November 29th), to a total debt of $33,849,202,250,270.84 according to the Treasury Department. The National Debt Ceiling of 31.381 trillion has been suspended as of June 1st, 2023 until January 1st, 2025. See the Debt to the Penny.
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867.8
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276.3
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305.6
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253.2
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532.2
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149.6
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| Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
Chart data updated through October 11th, 2023
Space Weather – Solar Sunspots
The number of solar Sunspots (magnetic storms on the surface of the sun facing Earth) has decreased this week to 138 from 184 last week, the sun has had 0 spotless days in 2023. We are about 2 years into a 5 year solar cycle known as Solar Maximum where sunspots are in constant very high numbers. See more about Sunspots and space weather.
Exoplanet Discoveries
NASA has cataloged 11 new exoplanets this week, the total has increased to 5,550 confirmed and catalogued Exoplanets across 4,268 confirmed Planetary Systems. 309 Exoplanets have been confirmed this year so far and there are 10,009 Exoplanet Candidates being evaluated for confirmation. Learn about all of the Exoplanets from NASA’s Exoplanet Catalog.