商务英语BEC高级阅读材料：美国2月成屋销售
美国2月份成屋销售量7个月来首次出现增长，但销售价格却创下至少40年来的最大跌幅。
Sales of previously owned homes in the US rose for the first time in seven months in February, while sale prices fell by their most in at least 40 years.
全美房地产经纪人协会(National Association of Realtors)的数据显示，经季节因素调整后，美国上月成屋销售量增加2.9%，折合成年率为503万套，但较上年同期减少了23.8%。
Figures from the National Association of Realtors showed that existing home sales rose by 2.9 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03m units last month, still 23.8 per cent lower than a year ago.
此前，美国1月份成屋销售量折合成年率为489万套，创下自1999年有记录以来的最低水平。市场曾预计2月份的销售量将再次小幅下滑，至485万套。
The rise comes after sales fell in January to a level of 4.89m – the lowest since records began in 1999. Sales had been expected to fall modestly again this month to a level of 4.85m.
经济学家们表示，成屋销售量的增加，对住宅和金融市场是一个积极信号，但并非住宅市场即将好转的明证。
Economists said that the rise was a positive indication for housing and the financial markets but that it was not clear evidence that residential real estate was about to improve.
雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)经济学家扎克?潘德尔(Zach Pandl)表示：“销售量的上升是重要的第一步，但我不会就此认为住宅市场的问题都已得到解决。”
“The rise in sales is an important first step,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Lehman Brothers. “But I wouldn’t call it the end of the problems in housing.”
美国2月份成屋销售价格下滑8.2%，价格中值为19.59万美元，创下全美房地产经纪人协会自1968年开始记录房价以来的最大单月跌幅。
House prices fell 8.2 per cent – the biggest one-month drop since the NAR began keeping records in 1968 – to a median price of $195,900 (?127,000, ￡98,700).
成屋库存减少3%，从10.2个月供应量减少至9.6个月供应量，但仍处于非常高的水平，是2005年水平的两倍以上。
The inventory of homes for sale fell by 3 per cent from 10.2 to 9.6 months’ supply. The supply is still extre-mely elevated and more than twice as high as in 2005.
潘德尔表示：“只有看到房屋价格见底，人们才会对房地产或证券市场恢复信心。”
“Until you see a bottom in home prices, people are not going to be confident about the market in homes or in securities,” Mr Pandl said.
JP摩根(JPMorgan)的麦克尔?芮豪特(Michael Rehaut)表示：“考虑到总体需求疲软，而且目前看来春季销售疲软的趋势已经形成，我们相信……房屋销量的上升可能只是暂时的。”
“We believe this?.?.?.?pickup will likely prove temporary, given overall weak demand and the soft spring selling season that we believe has so far taken shape,” said Mi-chael Rehaut at JPMorgan.
在另一份数据中，芝加哥联邦储备银行(Chicago Federal Reserve Bank)的全国活动指数显示，美国的经济衰退可能已经开始。今年2月，该指数的3个月均值跌破-0.70的“关口”，至-0.87。芝加哥联邦储备银行表示：“经过一段时间的经济扩张后出现这种情况，说明衰退已经开始的可能性越来越大。”
In another data release, the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank’s National Activity index sent a signal that a recession had probably begun in the US. The three-month average score for the index fell below the -0.70 “threshold” to -0.87 for February. “Such an occurrence following a period of economic expansion indicates an increasing likelihood that a recession has begun,” the bank said.
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