Coming up: U.S. trade gap, claims, import prices
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The government will release three economic indicators at 8:30 a.m. Eastern: the August trade deficit, weekly jobless claims and import prices for September. Higher oil prices are likely to have a big impact on two of the reports. An increase in the overseas fuel bill is expected to lead to a 4.8% widening in the trade gap to $44.0 billion in August, economists said. Also, analysts expect a second straight big gain in the import price index due to gains in prices for crude and fuel. In the third release, weekly jobless claims, economists are forecasting a slight 1,000 gain to 368,000, according to a MarketWatch survey. Claims have held steady near the 370,000 level in recent weeks, consistent with a soft, but not weakening, labor market, economists said.