This Week: Consumer price index, retail sales, housing starts
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week
INFLATION BAROMETER
The Labor Department releases its October snapshot of U.S. consumer prices Tuesday.
Economists polled by FactSet expect prices rose 3.3% last month from a year earlier, a slowdown from September’s 3.7% pace. Inflation in consumer prices has been cooling since June 2022, when it hit a high of 9.1%, but remains above the Fed’s 2% target.
Consumer price index, annual percent change, not seasonally adjusted:
May 4.1
June 3.0
July 3.2
Aug. 3.7
Sept. 3.7
Oct. (est.) 3.3
Source: FactSet
RETAILER CHECKUP
The Commerce Department delivers its U.S. retail sales data for October Wednesday.
Economists expect that Americans pulled back on purchases at retailers last month, leading to a drop of 0.1% from the previous month. That would mark the first monthly decline since March, when retail sales fell 0.9%. Retail sales have risen for six months in a row, reinforcing the fact that American consumers overall are showing no signs of reining in spending.
Retail sales, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:
May 0.7
June 0.2
July 0.6
Aug. 0.8
Sept. 0.7
Oct. (est.) -0.1
Source: FactSet
TRACKING HOME CONSTRUCTION
New government data on residential construction should provide insight into the state of the new-home market.
The Commerce Department is expected to report Friday that builders broke ground on new apartments and single-family homes last month at a slightly faster pace than September. Builders are facing rising costs, production bottlenecks and slowing demand amid sharply higher mortgage rates than a year ago.
Housing starts, monthly, seasonally adjusted annual rate:
May 1,583,000
June 1,418,000
July 1,451,000
Aug. 1,269,000
Sept. 1,358,000
Oct. (est.) 1,365,000
Source: FactSet