John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended September 17th

Inflation moderation

While inflation remained strong, the recent spike in U.S. consumer prices moderated in August. The Consumer Price Index rose 5.3% compared with the same month a year earlier, but the rate of increase was down slightly from July’s figure and was markedly below June’s surge in inflation. 

Retail therapy

Despite a recent decline in consumer sentiment, U.S. retail spending unexpectedly rebounded. Sales rose 0.7% in August, marking a sharp turnaround from July’s 1.8% decline. The August result could temper expectations for a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter.

Shaken confidence

The recent deterioration in U.S. consumers’ economic expectations has eased somewhat, according to a preliminary reading released on Friday. The University of Michigan said its monthly consumer sentiment index came in slightly above its figure in August, when sentiment fell sharply among survey participants.

Fed ahead

At its two-day meeting that concludes on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to explore when to trim its bond-purchasing stimulus program as an initial step toward broadly tightening its monetary policy. Recently uneven economic data has fueled talk among economists that the Fed may hold off on setting a specific tapering date while tying policy changes to job growth in September and beyond.

Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/