Economic indicators

U.S. import prices fell by 0.2% in March on a 3.8% drop in fuel prices, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday. Import prices were 0.2% higher excluding petroleum or all fuels.

Consumer credit increased by $15.2 billion in February to $3.792 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The value of wholesale inventories rose 0.4% in February, in line with the Commerce Department's advance estimate, while wholesale sales gained 0.6%, a Friday report showed.

U.S. inflationary pressures were down in March, as the U.S. future inflation gauge decreased to 113.2 from a 113.5 reading in February, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

March payrolls came in well below expectations, while the unemployment rate fell below what most policymakers consider full employment. Weather likely played a role pulling down retail employment again last month.

Newly issued Treasury securities held in stripped form increased about $85 million in March to a total of $241.146 billion, the Bureau of the Public Debt reported Monday.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 25,000 to a five-week low of 234,000 in the week ended April 1, well below the 250,000 level analysts expected, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.

About 4,639,700 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in March, an increase of 102,000 from February, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

The U.S. services sector expanded in March although the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 55.2 in the month, compared to 57.6 in February, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday.

Private-sector employment increased by 263,000 in March, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP estimated Wednesday.

The value of new factory orders rose for the third straight month by 1.0% in February, as expected, data released by the Commerce Department Tuesday morning showed.

"New York City purchasing managers reported strong optimism in addition to a faster pace of activity in March," the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Tuesday, indicated.

The U.S. international trade gap narrowed to a below-expectations $43.6 billion with imports of crude oil up and autos down.