Basis Points 9.14.23 - westwoodgroup.com

Crude Oil Prices Increase

Crude oil prices advanced for the second straight week and are on track for a second consecutive monthly gain as some OPEC+ countries, including Russia, extended supply cuts. As investors await this week’s Consumer Price Index, rising oil prices could push overall prices higher than expected.

U.S. Service Sector Slows

Growth in the services sector slowed in August, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index from S&P Global. Business activity increased at the slowest pace in the past seven months, as a contraction in new business orders weakened output. The drop in client demand was attributed to interest rate increases and elevated inflation. As a result of the decrease in new business, new hirings by service firms were at the slowest pace in nearly a year.

Eye on the Week

The latest reports on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI) are out this week. Consumer prices edged up 0.2% in July and 3.2% for the 12 months ended in July. Producer prices rose 0.3% in July and 0.8% for the year.

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