The Conference Board’s chief economist, Dana Peterson, analyzes the job market and consumer confidence on “Making Money.”
U.S. producer prices grew slower than expected in July as rising commodity prices were tempered by lower services prices, suggesting inflation continued to ease.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday that the producer price index (PPI), a measure of final demand, rose 0.1% last month after an unchanged 0.2% increase in June. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected the PPI to rise 0.2%.
In the 12 months to July, PPI rose 2.2% following a 2.7% increase in June.
Slowing inflation and a cooling labor market have financial markets expecting the Federal Reserve to begin an easing cycle in September. The U.S. central bank has grown increasingly concerned about the weakness in the labor market after the unemployment rate surged to a three-year high of 4.3% in July, and a 50 basis point interest rate cut cannot be ruled out.
The Federal Reserve Board (Fed) kept its benchmark overnight interest rate at its current range of 5.25% to 5.50% for one year, with a 525 basis point increase in 2022 and 2023.
