Home prices kept rising in July across the United States, buoyed by greater sales and fewer foreclosures. Despite continuing economic uncertainty, consumers are slightly more optimistic than they have been in several months: Consumer-confidence gauge rises to 7-month high.

US Home Prices Rose for Sixth Month in a Row: Case-Shiller. Six years after its collapse, economists believe the housing market has turned a corner. The home price data confirmed "recent good news'' about the sector.

Home sales have been bolstered by the lowest mortgage rates on record. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage touched a record low of 3.49 percent last week and has been below 4 percent all year. A limited supply of homes has also helped drive prices higher.

Still, many Americans, particularly first-time homebuyers, are unable to qualify for a mortgage or can't afford larger down payments required by banks. That's holding back sales

Home sales could get a further boost from the Federal Reserve. The Fed said two weeks ago that it would purchase $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities each month until the economy and hiring improve substantially. That's likely to keep mortgage rates at record-low rates for some time.

The two leading store sales indexes, the ICSC-Goldman and Redbook, are now up 2.9% and 2.0% year over year, respectively.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates tumbled 9 basis points to average 3.63 percent, the lowest level in the history of the survey.The drop in rates followed the Fed's announcement it will purchase $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities every month until there is improvement in the labor market.

Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. fell slightly in August to a 373,000 annual pace from July's slightly revised level of 374,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The inventory of new homes on the market held near record lows last month. At August's sales pace it would take 4.5 months to clear the houses on the market, unchanged from July.

Refineries cut back production of gasoline where inventories are down 0.5 million barrels which is the ninth straight weekly draw though the lowest of the streak. Distillate inventories are also down 0.5 million barrels for a second straight draw.

Brent crude oil fell more than 1% to below $109 a barrel on Wednesday as the euro zone crisis deepened with violent clashes and a general strike in Greece and more bad economic news for Spain.

The labor market has been mired in weakness as worries about higher taxes and deep government spending cuts in January, the ongoing debt problems in Europe and slowing global growth lead employers to be cautious about ramping up hiring.

Sluggish job gains and stubbornly high unemployment spurred the Federal Reserve this month into launching a third round of bond purchases to drive down already low interest rates.

The U.S. central bank vowed to buy $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities each month until it sees a sustained upturn in the labor market.

The unemployment rate has been stuck above 8 percent for more than three years, the first time this has happened since the Great Depression, a hurdle for President Barack Obama's quest for a second term in office.

What’s more, another slowdown in the U.S. economy and dim prospects for a pickup in growth before the end of the year suggests hiring won’t accelerate much until 2013. The unemployment rate, now 8.1%, is not expected to fall much in the near future.

Pending home sales retreat after hitting 2-yr high. The performance in month-to-month contract signings has been uneven with ongoing shortages of lower priced inventory in much of the country, and across most price ranges in the West, but activity has remained at notably higher levels this year.

New home sales for August also disappointed, coming in lower than expected. New home sales are measured by signed contracts, rather than closings.

Many argued that stocks have rallied largely based on bond-buying expectations from the Federal Reserve, rather than healthy factors underpinning the global economy. The Fed’s unfurling of more quantitative easing was mostly a non-event that had already been factored into stock prices.

The Fed's holdings of debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank system totaled $83.41 billion, down from $87.10 billion the previous week.

The Fed announced Sept. 13 that it would be buying $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month for the foreseeable future. The idea of the purchases, popularly known as QE3, is to spur economic activity by pumping more cash into the economy and driving down rates. Those taking out new home loans, either to purchase or refinance, will be among the first beneficiaries of the Fed's policy.

For the most part, Americans have generally been reluctant shoppers in 2012, except when it comes to cars and trucks. Auto sales have surged to the highest level in three years, as many consumers replace aged vehicles they normally would have gotten rid of years ago had the economy been better.

Economists say consumer spending is unlikely to rise much faster unless businesses boost investment and hire at a faster pace, putting more money in people’s pockets.

The core index is closely watched by economists and the Federal Reserve to gauge inflationary trends and help determine whether to change interest rates. The central bank typically seeks to keep inflation at 2% or less. Consumers' inflation expectations for a year from now fell to 3.3% from 3.6%, while the five-to-10-year inflation outlook eased to 2.8% from 3%.

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