Economic indicators

Initial claims U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 to 226,000 in the March 10 week, slightly below the 228,000 level expected.

Firms are paying more for supplies, but aren’t really passing those increases on to consumers, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey suggested.

The value of business inventories in January saw a 0.6% increase, as expected by analysts.

Final demand PPI rose by 0.2% in February, slightly faster than expected, with a 0.2% gain outside of food and energy prices.

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in February for a third month.

Optimism has allowed small businesses to raise spending and wages and hire more workers, survey says.

U.S. consumer prices continued to firm in February, indicating inflation is creeping up toward the Federal Reserve's target without the kind of breakout that would warrant a faster pace of interest-rate hikes.

The federal government ran a $215.2 billion deficit in February, the Treasury Department reported Monday.

Consumers’ inflation expectations crept higher, but respondents are wary about government debt levels.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) rose to 107.74 in February from a downwardly revised 106.50 in January.

January wholesale inventories saw a 0.8% rise, while wholesale sales saw a 1.1% decrease.

U.S. employers added the most workers since mid-2016 as labor-force participation swelled.

Initial claims U.S. state unemployment benefits rose by 21,000 to 231,000 in the March 3 week.

Consumer credit increased by $19.9 billion in January to $3.855 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

A tight U.S. labor market was helping lift wages across most of the country through late February and contributing to “moderate inflation” in most areas, a Federal Reserve survey showed.

About 4,717,600 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in February, a decrease of 185,700 from January, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

Fourth quarter nonfarm productivity was revised up slightly to a flat reading, but more importantly unit labor costs growth was revised solidly higher to a 2.5% pace.

The U.S. international trade gap widened to $56.6 billion in January.

Private-sector employment increased by 235,000 in February, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP estimated Wednesday.

The value of new factory orders in January saw a 1.4% decline, slightly lower than the 1.3% decrease expected.