Economy Week Ahead: U.S. Growth, Interest Rates and Wages in Focus

The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence, which measures American attitudes toward jobs and the economy, is expected to have declined in July.

Wednesday

Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they plan to raise the central bank’s benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point—or possibly a larger, full-percentage-point increase—in an effort to tame inflation running at a four-decade high. Chairman

Jerome Powell

will deliver remarks on the Fed’s decision at a news conference afterward.

U.S. orders for goods designed to last at least three years are expected to have fallen sharply in June, reflecting cooling demand as economic growth slows.

The National Association of Realtors is expected to report the number of houses going under contract in the U.S. fell sharply in June.

Thursday

A key measure of economic growth is expected to show that the U.S. economy slightly expanded in the second quarter. The Commerce Department previously reported that the U.S. gross domestic product declined in the opening three months of 2022. The headline GDP figure, which is adjusted for inflation, will likely reflect surging prices and slower inventory growth.

New applications for unemployment benefits are estimated to have decreased slightly in the week ended July 23, after hitting the highest point in eight months the week before.

Friday

Employer labor costs are expected to have eased slightly in the second quarter, providing the Fed with evidence that labor-market pressures, which are pushing up inflation, might be easing. The Labor Department’s employment-cost index has advanced at a record pace in recent quarters.

U.S. household spending is estimated to have picked up in June, showing that consumers have kept opening their wallets as they faced historically high inflation and rising interest rates.

The Commerce Department’s personal-consumption expenditures index reading for core prices—which excludes volatile food and energy prices—is expected to show that price increases accelerated in June compared with the prior month.

Figures from the European Union’s statistics agency are expected to show that the eurozone economy slowed sharply during the three months through June as energy prices surged. Separate data are expected to show that the annual rate of inflation remained at 8.6% in July.

The University of Michigan’s final reading of consumer sentiment for July is expected to have remained at the same level that it reported earlier in the month: near a historic low.

—Paul Hannon contributed to this article.

Write to Bryan Mena at bryan.mena@wsj.com