Reports May Signal Slowing Economic Growth

Reports this week on retail sales, housing starts, factory output and consumer prices could point to slower economic growth and tame inflation, analysts said. Inflation probably stayed mild as the pace of growth cooled, analysts said. The consumer price index, to be released Wednesday, is likely to have increased 0.2% for the month after showing no change during April, according to forecasts. The core index, which excludes food and energy, probably rose 0.2%, the same as a month earlier. Retail sales were probably unchanged in May after falling 0.2% during April, analysts said of a Commerce Department report due Tuesday. Excluding autos, sales are likely to have risen 0.4% during the month after showing no change in April, analysts said. New-housing starts--a stalwart of the record 10-year economic expansion--probably fell 2.6% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.62 million units in a report coming Friday, analysts said. Higher borrowing costs after six interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve could be cooling demand. A Fed report Thursday on industrial production, meanwhile, probably declined 0.3% during May after rising 0.9% during April, according to forecasts. The plant-use rate is likely to have fallen to 81.6% in May from April’s 82.1%. The Fed will release its latest regional economic report, the beige book, on Wednesday.