US consumer sentiment, Canadian leading indicator and European industrial orders up

US consumer sentiment rose in November. Apart from that, the US economic data reported yesterday were quite mixed.

Reuters reports the US consumer sentiment:

The University of Michigan's final reading of consumer sentiment for November rose to 81.6 from 74.2 in late October, beating analysts' forecasts of a rise to 80.5, according to sources who saw the subscription-only report.

...employment situation:

Another report from the Labor Department showed the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by a larger-than-expected 30,000 last week, taking claims to their highest point since mid-October.

Initial claims for state unemployment aid rose to a seasonally adjusted 335,000 from a revised 305,000 the previous week, above Wall Street forecasts of 315,000...

The Conference Board said its gauge measuring help-wanted ad volume in the United States was at 38, compared with a downwardly revised 38 in September. The September reading was originally reported at 39.

...housing market:

U.S. mortgage applications fell last week, as home refinancings hit a 16-month low as interest rates neared their highest for a year.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its index of mortgage application activity for the week ended November 18 fell to 635.4, marking a 3.4 percent fall on the prior week.

...and leading indicator:

The Economic Cycle Research Institute, an independent forecasting group, said its weekly leading index fell to 134.9 in the week ended November 18, from 135.8 the week before.

Meanwhile, Canada's leading indicator gained in October.

The leading indicator posted a solid 0.5% gain in October, up from a 0.4% advance in September. Recent months have seen a shift in growth from household spending to investment demand. Housing was the only one of the ten components to decline, compared with two in September.

And European industrial orders were up in September.

The euro-zone industrial new orders index rose by 1.1% in September 2005 compared to August 2005. The index increased by 0.1% in August and fell by 1.5% in July. EU25 new orders rose by 0.6% in September 2005, after falling 0.3% in August3 and remaining unchanged in July.

In September 2005 compared to September 2004, industrial new orders increased by 4.6% in the euro-zone and by 5.5% in the EU25.