Signs of Rise

Most of the familiar economic indicators last week pointed upward:

sbINDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION rose in December to a record 115% of the 1957 average, up one point from November and 13 points above last February's recession low.

sbNEW ORDERS for durable goods, spurred in part by hedge buying of steel against the possibility of a strike in July, climbed to a near-record $16.4 billion in December. One strong sign of confidence: new orders of durable goods ran well ahead of sales ($15.8 billion).

sbAUTO SALES spurted 18% ahead of last year's pace in the first ten days of January. From Oct. 1 through Jan. 10, sales broke the record for the same period set in 1955-56. This month automakers plan to produce 620,000 cars, 50% more than last January.

sbFHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE APPLICATIONS jumped 9% from November to December, setting a two-year high, and signaling that housing starts (running in December at a disappointing annual rate of 1,264,000) are likely to pick up soon.

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