Looking Ahead: Week of March 11 to March 15
Market News International compiles a market consensus that surveys 15 to 20 economists each week.

Wednesday
Retail sales are expected to post a 0.9 percent gain in February after declining 0.2 percent in January. A spurt in motor vehicle sales is helping to boost total retail spending. (Forecast range: 0.3 to 1.5 percent) Excluding autos, economists are predicting retail sales will post a 0.5 percent hike in February, less than the 1.2 percent gain posted in January, but still respectable. (Forecast range: 0.3 to 0.8 percent)

Thursday
Economists are predicting that new jobless claims will edge down 1,000 to 375,000 in the week ended March 9 from last week's level of 376,000. Jobless claims can move erratically from week to week, but new jobless claims have headed down in the past couple of months. (Forecast range: -6,000 to +4,000)

The market consensus is calling for a 0.3 percent drop in business inventories in January. This incorporates a 0.6 percent drop in manufacturing inventories. Wholesale trade figures will be out on Monday and could lead to a change in expectations. (Forecast range: -0.5 to 0.0 percent)

Friday
The producer price index is expected to rise 0.2 percent in February, slightly higher than the 0.1 percent hike posted in the previous month. Higher energy prices are contributing to the rise. (Forecast range: 0.0 to 0.3 percent) Excluding food and energy, the PPI should inch up 0.1 percent in February, reversing the previous month's 0.1 percent drop. (Forecast range: 0.0 to 0.2 percent)

The consensus forecast shows that market players are looking for industrial production to increase 0.2 percent in February; production fell in the past couple of months. The gain in motor vehicle production could help boost total production for the month. (Forecast range: -0.2 to 0.5 percent) The capacity utilization rate is predicted to edge up 0.2 percentage points in February to 74.4 percent. Production and capacity utilization often move in tandem (Forecast range: 74.0 to 74.7 percent)