Statements by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium ended a full week of economic data.
Monday
August surveys of purchasing managers in some of the world’s largest economies, including the United States, will provide the latest indication of how the rapid spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant is affecting economic activity. Economists expect to see a moderate slowdown in the expansion of the services sector in both the United States and Europe and a decline in activity in both Japan and Australia.
House prices in the United States hit a record in June amid a housing boom that faced low mortgage rates and strong demand versus limited supply of homes for sale. Economists forecast a small drop in existing home sales in July, at an annual rate of 5.83 million from 5.86 million a month earlier, as price and supply constraints cause more buyers to be out of the market.
Thursday
U.S. unemployment claims fell to a new pandemic low in the second week of August, a sign that the labor market continues to improve despite the increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. Economists predict few changes in applications for unemployment benefits during the week ending August 21, a result that would suggest that layoffs would remain fairly stable as the summer unfolds.