A closely watched gauge of U.S. consumer confidence and the Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole Symposium will headline Friday's economic calendar, with traders parsing both for policy cues and growth signals.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index is scheduled for release at 9:00 a.m. ET, with the headline reading forecast at 51.0, down from 55.2 in the prior month. The expectations component is projected at 50.6, compared with 55.4 previously, while the current conditions gauge is seen at 51.8 versus 54.8. One-year inflation expectations are expected to edge up to 4.3% from 4.2%, while the five-year outlook remains unchanged at 3.3%.
The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, hosted in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, begins at 7:00 a.m. ET. The annual event convenes central bankers, finance ministers, academics and market participants to discuss global economic challenges and policy frameworks. Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh is also scheduled to deliver remarks at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Additional U.S. data include the payrolls benchmark revision at 9:00 a.m. ET and the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count update at 12:00 p.m. ET, following the prior rig count of 452 and total rig count of 588.
Later in the session, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report, released at 2:30 p.m. ET, will detail speculative positioning in major futures contracts as of the prior Tuesday. Notable net positions include long bets in crude oil at 122.1K contracts and gold at 222.2K, alongside short positions in natural gas at 203.5K and wheat at 18.8K.
