Wall Street week ahead: consumer confidence, inflation, employment updates

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NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street has a busy week ahead with important updates on inflation, the jobs market and consumer confidence.

The reports could help provide a clearer picture on how consumers are handling higher prices on a wide range of products and services, along with whether employment and wages remain resilient.

Business group The Conference Board will release its consumer confidence survey for September on Tuesday. The survey has revealed shaky confidence from consumers throughout the year. In August, confidence slipped to its lowest level in seven months.

On Wednesday, the U.S. will release a key inflation report, the personal consumption expenditures price index, for August. The PCE is closely monitored by Wall Street and the Federal Reserve. Inflation remains stubbornly above 3% and the Federal Reserve recently raised interest rates in an effort to tame high prices. The central bank has a target rate for inflation of 2%.

High gasoline prices have been fueling a broader jump in inflation, squeezing household budgets and sapping consumer confidence. The U.S. war with Iran has stifled global oil supplies since late February. It has a direct impact via higher gasoline prices, but higher fuel costs also make shipping more expensive. That raises prices for everything from food to clothing.

The U.S. releases its monthly employment report for September on Friday. The jobs market has been among the more resilient areas of the economy, but it has started to show more signs of stress. Wage growth has been slowing, which makes it harder for workers to deal with the impact of rising inflation.