By WSJ Staff 

A quieter week on the data front lies ahead, following Friday's monthly U.S. jobs report. The U.S. Labor Department will issue figures on inflation and the Federal Reserve will post minutes from its last meeting. Germany will release data on manufacturing orders.

MONDAY

Amid a global manufacturing pullback, German manufacturers have especially suffered as export orders in particular have declined sharply. Monday's data on new orders may point to a stabilization in August, although that would fall short of any hint of a significant rebound in overseas or domestic sales. Economists expect to see manufacturing orders up 0.2% from the previous month, while remaining 2.7% down on a year earlier. However, as weak orders continue to flow through factory floors, they expect figures to be released Tuesday and Wednesday will show a 0.1% drop in industrial production in the same month, and a narrowing of Germany's trade surplus.

WEDNESDAY

The Federal Reserve releases minutes from its Sept. 17-18 meeting, when officials voted to cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage point for the second time in as many months. Investors will look for additional insight into how Fed officials are thinking as discussions of another rate cut remain on the table.

THURSDAY

The U.S. Labor Department issues the consumer-price index, which measures changes in how much Americans are paying for items such as clothes, gas and food. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast the index rose 0.1% in September from the prior month and 1.8% from the prior year.

Thursday's release will help shed light on whether inflationary pressures are building in the U.S., a factor Fed officials consider carefully as they set interest rates. The consumer-price index ticked 0.1% higher in August from July, while core prices -- which exclude the volatile categories of food and energy -- increased 0.3%. The personal-consumption expenditures price index, another measure of inflation, also rose in August from the prior month, but it was the smallest gain since January.

FRIDAY

The University of Michigan will release the preliminary October results of its monthly consumer-sentiment survey. Economists expect the survey's main index -- which is based on survey respondents' assessments of current economic conditions and their future expectations -- to be lower in October than in September. Last month, the index was higher than in August, which survey officials attributed to favorable jobs and income trends. Consumers have helped drive the economy this year, but recent data have pointed to declining consumer confidence and a slowdown in household spending.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 06, 2019 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)