Producer Price Index Preview: Cooler In July

The U.S. Department of Labor releases the monthly Producer Price Index (PPI) figures for July at 8:30 a.m. ET, with consensus calling for a rise of 0.1 percent, according to Bloomberg News. The range of estimates is from -0.2 percent to 0.3 percent. PPI less the more volatile food and energy components is expected to show a similar increase of 0.1 percent, although the estimates range is much narrower at 0.0 percent to 0.2 percent.

PPI measures inflation at the manufacturer level, which can be a leading indicator of higher ultimate prices for the consumer.

This would mark a definitive drop from last month's strong gains of 0.4 percent on the headline PPI and 0.3 percent on PPI less food and energy. June's 0.4 increase was the largest monthly gain since last May, although the year-over-year change is still firmly in negative territory at -1.1 percent. Continued low inflation readings may give the Federal Reserve more reason to delay the anticipated September rate increase.

S&P 500 futures were weaker by 0.25 percent in front of the PPI release.