US retail sales, produces prices rise; jobless claims lower than forecast

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A slew of U.S. economic data on Thursday showed stronger-than-expected numbers that stoked worries about sticky inflation and reinforced the view that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates higher for longer.

U.S. producer prices rose 0.7% in August, compared with expectations of a 0.4% increase. U.S. retail sales also climbed 0.6% last month, against estimates of a 0.2% rise, while initial jobless claims for the latest week fell to 220.000. Economists polled…