Mixed US economic data

US economic data on Thursday were mixed. Reuters reports:

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 22,000 to 405,000 last week, the lowest since mid-April, the Labor Department said. Economists expected claims to drop to 415,000. Still, claims held above the 400,000 level usually associated with a stable labor market...

Retail sales rose 0.1 percent as a rebound in receipts from auto dealers offset the biggest drop in gasoline receipts in a year, a Commerce Department report showed, after dipping 0.1 percent in May.

Core sales, excluding gasoline and autos, rose 0.2 percent after rising by the same margin in May...

Another report from the Commerce Department showed business inventories were starting to pile up because of weak demand.

Inventories increased 1 percent in both May and April, suggesting restocking supported growth in the second quarter and will be less of a boost to third-quarter GDP...

The Producer Price Index fell 0.4 percent, the steepest decline since February 2010, the Labor Department said in a second report, after a 0.2 percent rise in May.