Economic data included gains in existing home sales and housing starts, while the index of leading economic indicators continued to move in a negative direction. Fed Chair Powell’s comments at their Jackson Hole symposium pointed to higher chances of a September interest rate cut.

Economic data for the week included inflation data that came in more robustly than expected, especially on the producer side. Positive news came from a gain in retail sales, offsetting a drop in industrial production and weaker consumer sentiment.

Economic data was light, and included a slight decline in ISM services, toward neutral, while jobless claims continued to tick up a bit.

Economic data included the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates steady for another meeting. On the positive side, U.S. GDP saw strong growth for the second quarter (albeit with caveats), and consumer sentiment improved.

At the late July meeting, the U.S. Federal Reserve Open Market Committee voted to keep the Fed funds rate unchanged at the current range of 4.25-4.50%.

Last week’s news featured the Federal Reserve keeping short-term policy interest rates steady at their June meeting. Economic data included weaker retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, and the index of leading economic indicators. Jobless claims were little changed.