(Reuters) – Retail sales and initial jobless claims released on Thursday showed the resilience of the U.S. economy, dispelling fears of a slowdown and hopes of a major rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September and providing relief to risky assets.

Retail sales rose 1 percent last month, compared with a 0.3 percent increase expected by economists polled by Reuters, and after falling 0.2 percent in June, data from the Commerce Department showed Thursday.

Excluding automobiles, fuels, building materials and food services, retail sales rose 0.4% after a 0.5% increase in June (revised) and an expected 0.1% rise.

New unemployment claims also fell to 227,000 in the week ending August 10, compared to 235,000 expected by economists and 234,000 the previous week.

These solid figures reassure investors, who were worried about a possible slowdown in the American economy after the publication of several mediocre employment indicators at the beginning of August.

At 12:45 GMT, futures contracts on stock indices, which are sensitive to the economic situation, suggest a higher opening for Wall Street, with the Dow Jones rising by 0.78%, compared to 0.74% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.89% for the Nasdaq.

The dollar, whose level depends partly on American activity, rebounded by 0.48% against a basket of reference currencies.

This good resistance of activity also relieves the Federal Reserve: despite the high rates, the American economy is doing well and the central bank will not have to urgently ease its monetary policy.

According to the Fedwatch tool, money markets now rate a 25 basis point rate cut in September as 75% likely, up from 60% earlier this week.

The prospect of higher rates for longer than expected is weighing on fixed income assets: the 10-year Treasury yield is up 11.2bp to 3.9341%, while the two-year yield is up 14.8bp to 4.095%.

Leading indicators published on Thursday also suggest that the situation could become more complicated in the long term for the private sector.

The Philly Fed index unexpectedly fell to -7.0 on Thursday from 13.9 in July, as data showed sharp declines in new orders and companies’ six-month outlook.

The Empire State activity index rebounded in August, data released Thursday showed, but survey respondents also cited a sharp decline in new orders and the six-month outlook.

(Written by Corentin Chappron)

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