Interest rates

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose to 3.1%, up from 2.9% in June.

As mortgage rates dip, more homeowners are turning to cash-out refis for quick access to cash, ICE says.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said she foresees three interest rate cuts for this year, a view bolstered by the latest employment data.

The survey shows that Americans are more confident in their own finances, though most still expect home prices and mortgage rates to rise over the next year.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee is expected to leave interest rates unchanged again Wednesday amid reports of renewed economic growth in the second quarter and despite ramped up pressure from the White House to cut rates.

President Trump and Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., visited the Federal Reserve Board headquarters Thursday afternoon to inspect ongoing renovations whose cost overruns have heightened scrutiny of Fed chair Jerome Powell.

Lorie Logan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said in a speech Wednesday that she is content to leave interest rates where they are, adding that she would want to see inflation fall to 2% before considering cuts.

While refinances are behind the latest increases, the pace of purchase activity may be a stronger indicator of where the housing market sits.

US Treasuries fell for a fifth day as demand for long-term government debt across the globe wanes amid a flurry of bond auctions this week.

New research from the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and San Francisco says markets put the odds of zero interest rates lower today than in the recent past, but economic uncertainty raises the potential for drastic cuts in the "medium to long term."