Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for Feb. 24

02:35 PM EST, 02/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 91.2 in February from an 89.0 reading in January due to an increase in the expectations reading that was offset by a decline in the present situation measure.

The assessment of labor force conditions improved slightly in February, but the assessment of business conditions deteriorated.

The Conference Board noted that while the confidence measure improved in February, it remains below the recent high in late-2024.

The Richmond Federal Reserve's services reading fell to minus 8 in February from minus 3 in January, while the Dallas Fed's services reading fell to minus 3.2 from 2.7 and the Philadelphia Fed's measure fell to minus 17.3 from minus 4.2, all indicating contraction in the sector.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index fell to minus 10 in February from minus 6 in January, in contrast to other regional data that indicated expansion.

The FHFA home price index posted a 0.1% gain in December after a larger 0.7% increase in November. The index was 1.8% higher than a year ago.

Released at the same time, S&P Case-Shiller reported a 0.3% December home price decline after a 0.1% drop in the previous month but was up 0.4% after seasonal adjustment. The index was up 1.3% year-over-year, down from the 1.4% rate in the previous month.

December wholesale inventories were unrevised at a 0.2% increase, while wholesale sales increased by 1%, a much larger gain than expected.

Combined with already released data for the retail and factory levels of distribution, business inventories are on track for a 0.1% gain while business sales are tracking up 0.5%.

Redbook reported that US same-store retail sales were up 6.7% year-over-year in the week ended Feb. 21, slower than a 7.2% gain in the prior week. President's Day sales did little to boost overall sales, which were instead helped by sales of spring clothing.

The Q1 GDPnow estimate from the Atlanta Fed is for a 3.1% gain, unrevised from the previous estimate. The next update is expected on Feb. 27.

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