US retail sales rose in August for a third straight month, the latest sign of consumer resilience despite other gloomy economic signals.
The Federal Reserve is closely watching spending trends as policymakers debate a path for interest rate cuts — with the first trim expected Wednesday — but signs of a weakening labor market loom over the economy. Americans are still spending, but “the big question is how long this can continue if layoffs pick up,” one economist said.
Ahead of what The Wall Street Journal called the “strangest Fed meeting in years” — with the independent agency facing unprecedented pressure from President Donald Trump — investors are also awaiting the Fed’s rate-cut forecast for the rest of 2025.
