Economic indicators

Industrial production grew 0.7% in April, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday as Capacity utilization rose to 78.0.

Activity in the region’s service sector grew at a solid clip, according to firms responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s May 2018 Business Leaders Survey.

April housing starts fell by 3.7% to a 1.287 million annual rate.

The value of business inventories in March was roughly unchanged, below the 0.1% gain expected by analysts.

Builders’ confidence in the market for new single-family homes grew again as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index climbed to 70 in May from a downwardly revised 68 in April, first reported as 69.

U.S. retail sales rose for a second month in April in broad fashion as bigger after-tax paychecks helped compensate for rising fuel costs, signaling consumer demand was off to a good start this quarter.

Prices paid remain elevated, while business activity improved, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, suggested.

Consumers’ inflation expectations grew, but respondents’ optimism about income held, according to the April Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

The University of Michigan's preliminary May consumer sentiment index reading was 98.8.

U.S. import prices rebounded by 0.3% in April following a downward revised 0.2% decline in March.

The federal government ran a $214.3 billion surplus in April, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits held steady at 211,000 in the May 5 week.

U.S. consumer prices rose by less than forecast in April as costs for automobiles and airfares declined, reducing chances that inflation will run significantly above the Federal Reserve’s target in coming months.

March wholesale inventories rose by 0.3% in March, revised down from the 0.5% rise reported in the advance estimate.

Final demand PPI rose by 0.1% in April, slower than the 0.2% gain expected, with an as-expected 0.2% gain outside of food and energy prices.

Small business optimism gained in April on improved profits, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday.

California passed the United Kingdom in 2017 to become the fifth-largest economy in the world, according to federal data.

Consumer credit increased by $11.6 billion in March to $3.875 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) rose to 108.08 in April from a downwardly revised 107.37 in March.

U.S. hiring rebounded in April and the unemployment rate dropped below 4% for the first time since 2000, while wage gains unexpectedly cooled, suggesting the labor market still has slack to absorb.