Economic calendar: US retail sales key report of the day 📃

The two most important reports this week are likely to be the U.S. CPI report released yesterday and U.S. retail sales, which will be published today at 1:30 PM BST.

July retail sales could be one of the more significant reports for the Fed, as the central bank is looking for signs of where the economy will head in the second half of the year. Retail sales data over the past three months have shown a clear slowdown. Monthly growth has hovered around 0.0-0.1%, which has rightly raised concerns among investors about a cooling economy and a weaker consumer in the U.S. Expectations for today's report suggest a slight rebound in the data. Retail sales on a monthly basis are expected to rise to 0.3% m/m.

Other reports worth watching today include jobless claims and industrial production. These data are to be published at 1:30 PM BST and 2:15 PM BST, respectively.

Detailed schedule for the day:

01:30 PM BST, United States - Retail Sales Data for July:

• Retail Sales: previous 2.28% YoY;
• Retail Sales: forecast 0.4% MoM; previous 0.0% MoM;
• Retail Control: previous 0.9% MoM;
• Core Retail Sales: forecast 0.1% MoM; previous 0.4% MoM;

01:30 PM BST, United States - NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for August:

• forecast -5.90; previous -6.60;

01:30 PM BST, United States - Employment Data:

• Jobless Claims 4-Week Avg.: previous 240.75K;
• Initial Jobless Claims: forecast 236K; previous 233K;
• Continuing Jobless Claims: forecast 1,880K; previous 1,875K;

02:15 PM BST, United States - Manufacturing Production for July:

• forecast -0.2% MoM; previous 0.4% MoM;

02:15 PM BST, United States - Industrial Production for July:

• Industrial Production: forecast -0.3% MoM; previous 0.6% MoM;
• Industrial Production: previous 1.58% YoY;

06:10 PM BST, United States - FOMC Member Harker Speaks