US Monthly Economic Indicators (Through August 2023) US core consumer price inflation rate (excluding food and energy) is trending at moderate 2.4% annualized, however overall consumer and producer prices spiked up with oil in August. We are not yet out of the inflationary woods. Average hourly earnings change is trending at 4.1% annualized reflecting a tight labor market. Unemployment rate trend remains very low at 3.7%. Industrial Production and Retail Sales are in uptrends at 4.5% and 6.6% annualized rates respectively. Housing Starts trend spiked down to 1,380 units in August. The Fed remains tight. Money supply M2 trend is essentially flat after a sustained decline. Two-year and ten-year Treasury yields are still inverted, suggesting recession. Conference Board's Leading Economic Index decreased again in August (17 months in a row), again presaging recession. A soft landing still seems unlikely.