Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for Sept. 24

03:11 PM EDT, 09/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- New-home sales accelerated to a 684,000 annual rate in August from a 643,000 rate in July but was still down 2% from the level in August 2025. The Kansas City manufacturing reading rose to 14 in September from 10 in August, suggesting a faster pace of expansion. Initial jobless claims decreased by 1,000 to 197,000 in the week ended Sept. 19, lowering the four-week moving average by 1,750 to 202,250, a third straight decrease. Insured claims rose by 2,000 to 1,719,000 in the employment survey week ended Sept. 12. Insured claims were at a level of 1,771,000 in the employment survey week ended Aug. 15. Natural gas stocks rose by 53 billion cubic feet to 3.351 trillion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 18, down 4.2% from a year earlier but 2.9% higher than the seasonal average for the current week over the previous five years. The current account gap widened to $246.02 billion in Q2 from $212.60 billion in the previous quarter, reflecting a wider goods and services gap that was partially offset by smaller primary and secondary income deficits.