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Retail sales bolster Fed hike case
By Rita Nazareth and Oliver Renick
Bloomberg News

The dollar traded near a seven-month high and Treasuries fell Friday after US retail sales data bolstered the case for higher interest rates this year. Equities trimmed their gains as energy shares slumped with oil. Bloomberg’s Dollar Spot index, which tracks the currency against 10 major peers, rose 0.1 percent. Traders are sifting through economic reports and remarks for policy makers for clues on the path of borrowing costs in the world’s largest economy. Data on Friday showed US retail sales climbed in September by the most in three months while wholesale prices rose more than projected, bolstering the case for a rate rise. Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen said ‘‘an accommodative monetary stance, if maintained too long, could have costs that exceed the benefits’’ by increasing the risk of financial instability or undermining price stability. ‘‘The domestic numbers are going to be important for the Fed, that’s what they care about, and they continue to line up nicely for a Fed rate hike,’’ said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. Bets the Fed will raise rates in December are at 66 percent, from even odds on Sept. 27. Traders are pricing in a 17 percent chance of a move when officials meet next month, before the Nov. 8 election.