Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for Sept. 16

01:21 PM EDT, 09/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Retail sales rose by 1.2% in August and were up 1.4% excluding a 0.6% gain in auto sales, both well above expectations. A 3.1% jump in gasoline station sales, a 2.6% rebound in nonstore retail sales and a 1.2% gain in food services and drinking place sales were the key factors, partially offset by sales declines for building materials and at department stores. Control group retail sales, which exclude autos, gas, building materials, and food services, rose by 1.4% after a 0.4% drop in July. Import prices rose by 0.7% in August after a 0.3% decline and were up 0.8% excluding a 0.1% gain in petroleum prices. Export prices rose by 0.6% in August and were up 0.7% excluding a 0.5% gain in agricultural prices. The New York Federal Reserve's monthly business leaders index, a measure of services conditions, fell to minus 8.7 in September from 0.5 in August, indicating a return to contraction. Other services data will be released over the coming weeks. The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index fell to 32 in September from 35 in August and was unchanged from a reading of 32 a year ago. NAHB said that high mortgage rates, labor shortages and increasing costs continue to negatively impact builder sentiment. Business inventories rose by 0.8% in July after a 0.1% gain in June. Business sales rose by 0.3% after a 1% decline, with increases at the factory and wholesale levels but a decline at the retail level. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 4.1% decline in mortgage applications in the week ended Sept. 11 after a 2.7% drop in the previous week. Refinancing activity and new home applications fell due to an increase in mortgage rates to their highest level since May 2025. Total crude oil inventories fell by 1.0 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 11, with commercial oil inventories down 600,000 barrels and stocks in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve down 400,000 million barrels. Gasoline inventories and distillate inventories both increased last week. The Q3 GDP nowcast estimate from the Atlanta Fed is for a 5.1% gain, up from the previous estimate of a 4.4% gain.