Two new reports Friday show the U.S. economy struggling, but perhaps moving toward recovery.
The
number of unsold homes fell sharply in March as falling home prices and
low interest rates attracted some buyers to the market. However, the
number of newly-built homes sold declined six-tenths of a percent.
A separate report showed U.S. manufacturing declining, but at a slower rate than experts predicted.
Orders for durable goods, expensive manufactured items intended to last several years, fell eight-tenths of a percent in March.
Many
economists had predicted an even sharper fall for the month, and some
interpret the new figures as a sign the decline is slowing and may turn
around later this year.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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