Wall Street Journal (08/15/14) Ben Leubsdorf; Jonathan House

The producer-price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in July from June, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, an indication that inflationary pressures remain restrained. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.2% increase. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, producer prices increased 0.2%. Meanwhile, prices for services increased 0.1% in July after rising 0.3% in June.

Wall Street Journal (08/15/14) Josh Mitchell; Eric Morath

U.S. industrial production increased 0.4% in July from the previous month, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Capacity utilization increased 0.1 percentage point to 79.2%. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had forecast that output would increase 0.2% and a utilization rate of 79.1%. Manufacturing production rose 1.0%, and vehicle production saw the biggest jump since July 2009 with a 10.0% increase. Overall output has increased steadily over the last six months and in July was up 5% from a year ago, indicating the economy is gaining traction.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York (08/15/14)

The August Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the New York Federal Reserve Bank indicates that business conditions continued to improve for New York manufacturers, but the improvement was less widespread than in July. The headline general business conditions index retreated eleven points to 14.7, after reaching a four-year high last month. The new orders index slipped almost five points to 14.1, while the shipments index edged up a point to 24.6—a multiyear high.

Labor market conditions were mixed but continued to improve overall. The index for number of employees slipped three points to 13.6, suggesting a slight pullback in the pace of hiring. However, the average workweek index rose six points to 8.0, signaling a slight increase in hours worked.

Bloomberg (08/15/14) Victoria Stilwell; Jeff Kearns

Although the number of workers filing claims for unemployment benefits is at the lowest level since 1967, the number of long-term unemployed is larger than at any time prior to the 2007-09 recession. On the one hand, this means U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen is behind the curve given that monetary policy from the recession era remains in place, but on the other hand, it appears the central bank’s near-zero interest rates are responsible for modest gains during a fragile recovery.

As a result, experts are divided as to when the Fed should start raising rates for the first time since 2006. While Yellen says policy makers need to be sure the economy is on a solid footing before raising rates, most Fed officials expect the benchmark rate will need to be increased at some point in 2015. Strengthening job data has added to the challenge, prompting economists to worry that the Fed is overshooting its inflation target and encouraging bubble-like conditions by maintaining easy monetary policy.