The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of July.
The report said retail sales jumped by 1.0 percent in July after edging down by a revised 0.2 percent in June.
Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a surge in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in July after climbing by 0.8 percent in June. Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.
A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed an unexpected decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 10th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 227,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level of to 234,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 233,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 236,500, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 241,000.
Meanwhile, another report released by the Labor Department showed import prices in the U.S. unexpectedly crept higher in the month of July.
The Labor Department said import prices inched up by 0.1 percent in July after coming in unchanged in June. Economists had expected import prices to edge down by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the report said export prices climbed by 0.7 percent in July after dipping by a revised 0.3 percent in June.
Economists had expected export prices to come in unchanged compared to the 0.5 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday said regional manufacturing softened overall in the month of August.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity plunged to a negative 7.0 in August from a positive 13.9 in July, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to decrease to a positive 7.0.
Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said firms continue to expect growth over the next six months, but expectations were less widespread this month.
New York manufacturing activity edged slightly lower in the month of August, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed in a report on Thursday.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index rose to a negative 4.7 in August from a negative 6.6 in July, but a negative reading still indicates contraction. Economists had expected the index to inch up to a negative 6.0.
Looking ahead, the New York Fed said firms remained fairly optimistic that conditions would improve in the months ahead.
At 9:10 am ET, St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem is scheduled to speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Greater Louisville Inc. Regional Economic Development Update.
The Federal Reserve is due to release its report on industrial production in the month of July at 9:15 am ET. Industrial production is expected to dip by 0.3 percent in July after climbing by 0.6 percent in June.
At 10 am ET, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of August. The housing market index is expected to inch up to 43 in August after edging down to 42 in June.
The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on business inventories in the month of June at 10 am ET. Business inventories are expected to rise by 0.3 percent in June after increasing by 0.5 percent in May.
At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month’s auction of twenty-year bonds.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker is due to speak before the “From Rasters to Rows: New Methods and Applications in Automated Data Extraction” event at 1:10 pm ET.