US equity indexes fell this week as oil prices continued to climb amid attacks on key refineries in the Middle East, while the US government weighs deploying troops on the ground.
* The S&P 500 closed at 6,506.4 on Friday versus 6,632.19 a week ago, the Nasdaq Composite dropped to 21,647.61 from 22,105.36, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined to 45,577.47 from 46,558.47.
*The US government is considering plans to occupy Kharg Island, which is vital to Iran's oil exports, to pressure Tehran to allow tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
* US commercial crude oil inventories for the week ended March 13 rose by 6.2 million barrels, compared with 3.8 million increase a week earlier. Crude oil inventories, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, stood at 864.7 million barrels, up 3.8% from a year earlier.
* Initial jobless claims last week were 205,000, down from 213,000 a week earlier and below the 215,000 estimated by analysts polled by Bloomberg. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta now expects Q1 real GDP growth of 2.3%, down from a 2.7% forecast on March 13.
*The producer price index for final demand increased 0.7% in February, higher than the 0.5% increase in January, and above the 0.3% gain expected by analysts polled by Bloomberg. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 0.5% in February, slower than the 0.8% in January, but faster than the 0.3% expected in a Bloomberg survey.
*Industrial production rose 0.2% in February, compared with 0.7% in January and higher than 0.1% forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Manufacturing output rose 0.2% in February from 0.8% in January and above the 0.1% expected in a Bloomberg survey.
*US new-home sales fell to a 587,000 annual rate in January from a 712,000 rate in December, and lower than the 722,000 expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The supply of homes available for sale rose by 0.4% to 476,000, but the median sales price fell to $400,500 from $419,200 in December.
