Looking Ahead: Week of October 8 to October 12
Market News International compiles a market consensus that surveys 15 to 20 economists each week.

Thursday
The market consensus is looking for new jobless claims to decrease 8,000 in the week ended October 6 to a level of 520,000. (Forecast range: -103,000 to +32,000)

Friday
Retail sales are expected to decline 0.7 percent in September after rising 0.3 percent in August. This does reflect a moderate drop in motor vehicle sales. (Forecast range: -1.8 to -0.4 percent) Excluding autos, retail sales are predicted to decline 0.6 percent in September, after rising 0.5 percent in the previous month. (Forecast range: -1.5 to -0.2 percent)

Economists are predicting the producer price index will edge up 0.1 percent in September after rising 0.4 percent in August. (Forecast range: -0.3 to +0.3 percent) Excluding food and energy prices, the PPI is expected to rise 0.1 percent as well. This would offset the previous month's 0.1 percent drop. (Forecast range: -0.1 to +0.3 percent)

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index is expected to drop further in mid-October to a level of 77, from September's level of 81.8. (Forecast range: 70.0 to 79.0 percent)