Reports Send Mixed Signals On Inflation

Signs that inflation remains in check helped propel the Dow Jones industrial average to a record high at the beginning of the week, but the evidence wasn’t strong enough to prevent a midweek pullback.

In reports this week:

The Labor Department said American’s productivity, the key measure of how fast living standards can rise, increased at a 2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the best in more than three years.

The rise in seasonally adjusted productivity at non-farm businesses reflected the fastest pace of economic growth in a decade.

The Federal Reserve said consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2 percent in March, the slowest since September.

Auto lending declined at a 3.3 percent annual rate, while credit-card lending advanced at a 3.7 percent annual rate.

Leading retail chains said April showers dampened sales last month as the cold and rainy weather discouraged shoppers from buying spring merchandise.

April’s figures were also dampened by the absence of Easter sales. Easter arrived in March this year for most U.S. Christians.