The slump in US manufacturing activity continued for a 10th consecutive month in August amid ongoing softness in new orders, survey data showed Friday, with some signs pointing to an improving situation.

Oil prices rose on Friday to their highest in over half a year and snapped a two-week losing streak, buoyed by expectations of tightening supplies.

Ann McGee, a New Yorker from the borough of Queens, doesn’t like the recent sensation she has when entering stores: fear.

The dollar gained against the euro and Japanese yen on Friday after the August jobs report showed a still strong labour market, despite some signs of deterioration.

US job growth picked up in August, but the unemployment rate jumped to 3.8 percent and wage gains moderated, suggesting that labour market conditions were easing and cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates this month.

The Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates further to cool still-too-high inflation, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday, promising to move with care at upcoming meetings as he noted both progresses made on easing price pressures as well as risks from the surprising strength of the US economy.

The US dollar held steady on Friday, on pace to finish the week strong, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank may need to raise interest rates further to ensure inflation is contained but promised to move “carefully” at upcoming meetings.

Oil futures climbed about 1 percent to a one-week high on Friday as US diesel prices soared, the number of oil rigs dropped, and a fire broke out at a refinery in Louisiana.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, as labour market conditions remained tight despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes.

Walmart raised its full-year forecast on Thursday as it posted another quarter of solid results, grabbing market share in groceries and other staples against a backdrop of inflationary pressures.

Embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande Group filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States on Thursday, court documents showed, a measure that protects its US assets while it attempts to restructure.

Several Chinese manufacturers of solar panels have been shipping their products through third countries including Thailand and Vietnam to circumvent US tariffs, the Commerce Department announced Friday.

The US dollar hit its highest levels in more than a month on Monday amid worries over China’s economy, while Wall Street struggled for any clear picture ahead of fresh data on consumer appetite.

Financial markets barely flinched when Fitch stripped the United States of its top credit rating, but it served as a reminder of longer-term structural risks investors in government bonds are yet to grasp.

The dollar rose on Friday after a slightly bigger increase in US producer prices in July lifted Treasury yields higher even as speculation grows that the Federal Reserve is at the end of hiking interest rates.

While the market mostly shrugged off President Joe Biden’s move to prohibit some US technology investments in China, US investors said they were worried Beijing would retaliate or pull back from buying American technology.

Now that regulators in Washington have unfurled a hefty reform package of post-financial crisis capital regulations, banking industry advisers are honing in on what they consider most disruptive, including risk management requirements that could affect real estate lending, consumer credit and wealth management.

A US central bank official said Saturday that more interest rate hikes “will likely be needed” to bring inflation down further, shortly after policymakers lifted rates to the highest level since 2001.

Fitch downgraded the United States’ top-notch credit rating by a step on Tuesday, citing a growing federal debt burden and an “erosion of governance” that has manifested in debt limit standoffs.

A key indicator of US inflation cooled in June to the lowest annual rate in over two years, although this remains above the central bank’s target, according to government data released Friday.