Record diesel and 7% mortgages cannot dent demand — only its price.
August's demand prints keep beating expectations — core capital-goods orders up 11.2% y/y and new-home sales at an eight-month high — because the energy and rate shocks land in price cuts, rate buydowns, and pass-through rather than in cancelled purchases.
The same conclusion keeps arriving from across the workspace's research — 1 topics independently instantiate this theme. Filter the evidence by where it came from:
The eight-month-high sales pace is demand surviving 7% mortgages only because builders absorb the rate and energy shock through price cuts, buydowns and margin rather than cancelled purchases.
The entire headline spending beat came from the pump, confirming the energy shock lands in prices paid rather than volumes purchased.
Core capital-goods demand keeps beating expectations despite $6.50+ diesel, with the energy shock absorbed in prices rather than cancelled orders.