Reply #4: Indicators See Sluggish Rise in July [View All]

[ozymandius]

NEW YORK - An important gauge of future economic activity rose a modest 0.1 percent in July, suggesting that higher oil prices and rising interest rates are tempering the nation's economic growth prospects.

In Washington, meanwhile, the Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 to 316,000 last week, but were still at a level that indicates a strong job market.

The figures released Thursday indicate that the U.S. economy is expanding and is likely to continue doing so. Still, fears are increasing that higher oil prices — on top of the
Federal Reserve's interest rate increases — could dampen all-important consumer spending as the year progresses.

"We have headwinds from high energy prices," said Gary R. Thayer, chief economist at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis.

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