Economic indicators

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for May decreased to negative 0.15 from an upwardly revised positive 0.42 in April.

The composite of the Leading Economic Index was up 0.2% in May following an unrevised 0.4% increase in April, the Conference Board said Thursday.

Initial claims U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to 218,000 in the June 16 employment survey week.

Manufacturers report continued growth in June, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business respondents reported increasing costs.

Existing home sales fell 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted 5.43 million-unit rate in May.

The U.S. current account deficit widened to $124.1 billion in the first quarter from a revised $116.1 billion gap in the previous quarter.

The pace of housing starts rose 5.0% to a 1.350 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in May as building permits fell 4.6%.

Builders’ confidence in the market for new single-family homes slipped this month.

The University of Michigan's preliminary June consumer sentiment index reading roses to 99.3 compared to the final May read of 98.0.

Total industrial output was 3.5% higher in May than it was a year earlier.

New York State business activity continued to grow strongly in June, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

Business inventories in April rose 0.3%, as expected data released by the Commerce Department showed.

Import prices rose 0.6% in May, while export prices also gained 0.6%, the Labor Department reported.

Initial jobless claims fell 4,000 to 218,000 in the latest reporting week, the Labor Department reported.

Retail sales rose 0.8% in May overall and 0.9% excluding motor vehicle sales, well ahead of analysts' expectations, the Commerce Department reported.

U.S. producer prices rose more than forecast in May as the cost of fuels surged by the most in three years, a Labor Department report showed Wednesday.

The federal government ran a $146.8 billion deficit in May, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday.

U.S. inflation accelerated in May to the fastest pace in more than six years, reinforcing the Federal Reserve's outlook for gradual interest-rate hikes while eroding wage gains that remain tepid despite an 18-year low in unemployment.

Small business optimism gained in May, reacting to tax cuts and regulatory changes, while nearly one in five respondents expect to raise prices.

Consumers’ inflation expectations held, but respondents’ optimism about income and spending slid.