Please select this link to read the complete article from Reuters.
Complete Story
03/14/2024
The U.S. Economy is Cooling in Q1 2024
Inflation appears sticky
U.S. retail sales rebounded less than expected in February, suggesting a slowdown in consumer spending in the first quarter amid rising inflation and high borrowing costs.
The signs of slowing economic activity are, however, unlikely to spur the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates before June as other data on Thursday showed a larger-than-expected increase in producer prices last month.
The labor market also remains fairly tight. Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week and annual revisions to the weekly claims data showed laid-off workers were quickly finding new work and not spending as long a period of time on jobless benefits as had been previously thought.