US Data: Highlights of Market Survey of Economic Forecasts

     WASHINGTON (MNI)  - The following are highlights of forecasts for upcoming

U.S. economic indicators provided by Bloomberg forecasts. The comment section

presents the key elements behind the median forecasts.

Consumer Price Index for February (percent change)

 Wednesday, March 11 at 8:30 a.m. ET                      Actual:

                   Median:                          Feb20  Jan20  Dec19    

CPI                  flat                              --  +0.1%  +0.2%  

CPI Core            +0.2%                              --  +0.2%  +0.1%  

Comments: U.S. consumer inflation is set to be flat in February following a 0.1%

increase in January. Energy prices fell in February as industrial production

froze in China due to prolonged factory and business shutdowns following the

outbreak of the novel Covid-19 coronavirus, which could put downward pressure on

headline inflation growth. Core CPI should remain steady in February, rising by

0.2% according to market expectations, same as January. Headline inflation will

likely rise in the coming months on the back of coronavirus-related supply chain

disruptions, but falling prices of demand-sensitive goods and services, like

airfares, will likely add some downward pressure, according to analysts at CIBC

Economics.

Treasury Statement for February($ billions)

 Wednesday, March 11 at 2:00 p.m. ET                      Actual:  

                   Median:                         Feb20   Jan20   Dec19        

Treasury Budget  -$236.8b                             -- -$32.6b -$13.3b

Comments: The Treasury is expected to post a -$236.8b billion budget deficit for

February, up from January's -$32.6 billion gap.

Producer Price Index for January (percent change) 

 Thursday, March 12 at 8:30 a.m. ET                       Actual:

                  Median:                               Feb20  Jan20  Dec19    

PPI                -0.1%                                   --  +0.5%  +0.2%    

Core PPI           +0.1%                                   --  +0.5%  +0.1%    

Core PPI ex trade  +0.1%                                   --  +0.4%  +0.2%    

     Comments: Month-over-month final demand PPI is expected to shrink by -0.1%

while core PPI and core PPI excluding trade are both expected to increase by

+0.1%.

Initial Jobless Claims (thousands)

 Thursday, March 12 at 8:30 a.m. EST                        

                                                           Actual:

                   Median                          March07  Feb29  Feb22        

Claims               219k                               --   216k   219k        

Comments: Jobless claims for the week ending March 7 are expected to come in at

219,000, above the 213k four-week moving average identified by the Department of

Labor in its most recent jobless claims report.

Import/Export Prices for January(percent change)

 Friday, March 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET                         Actual:

                    Median:                         Feb20  Jan20  Dec19      

Import Price Index   -1.0%                             --   flat  +0.2%    

Export Price Index   -0.4%                             --  +0.7%  -0.2%  

Comments: The import price index is expected to decrease -1.0%, while the export

price index is expected to fall by -0.4%.

University of Michigan Survey for March (preliminary)

 Friday, March 13 at 10:00 a.m. ET                            Actual:

                          Median:                      March20(p) Feb20  Jan20  

Consumer Sent               95.0                            --    101.0   96.3 

Comments: The Michigan sentiment index is expected to reach 95.0, a 6.0 point

drop from February's 101.0 reading. The index faces downside risks from growing

fears of the coronavirus outbreak. The last two days of February's index sample

(Feb 24 and 25) showed that 20% of respondents mentioned Covid-19 in light of

the tumble in equity prices and announcements by the CDC about the domestic

spread of the disease, according to Nomura Global Economics.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202 371 2121; email: ryan.hauser@marketnews.com

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