This Week: Consumer prices, retail sales, quadruple witching

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:

TRACKING INFLATION

The Labor Department delivers its latest monthly reading of consumer inflation Tuesday.

Americans continue to face higher costs, reflected in a run of sharp annual increases in the consumer price index since summer last year. Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 8.5% in July from a year earlier, down from June's 9.1% pace as the price of gas, airline tickets and other goods eased. Economists predict the consumer price index rose 8.1% in the 12 months ended in August.

Consumer price index, annual percent change, not seasonally adjusted:

March 8.5

April 8.3

May 8.6

June 9.1

July 8.5

Aug. (est.) 8.1

Source: FactSet

RETAIL SNAPSHOT

The Commerce Department releases its August snapshot of U.S. retail sales Thursday.

Economists predict sales at restaurants, shops and other retailers were unchanged in August from the previous month after coming in flat in July. Persistently high inflation and rising interest rates have forced many Americans to spend more cautiously this year, especially on non-essentials.

Retail sales, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:

March 1.2

April 0.7

May 0.4

June 0.8

July 0.0

Aug. (est.) 0.0

Source: FactSet

QUADRUPLE WITCHING

Wall Street marks quadruple witching day on Friday.

That’s the day once a quarter when four kinds of options and futures contracts all expire simultaneously. The oddly named phenomenon forces traders to tie up loose ends in contracts they hold. The “witching hour” is what traders sometimes call the final stretch of such a day, a period that can see particularly heavy volume.