US July PPI 4.7% y/y vs 4.9% expectedUS initial claims for the current week 209K vs 202K estimateFed's Barkin: Still an open question on whether the FOMC needs to hike ratesFed's Hammack: Need some restraint from mon pol to bring down inflationFed's Barkin: It's hard to know whether policy is restrictive given standard errors in modelsUS 30 year average mortgage rate averages 6.67% vs 6.69% last week.US treasury sells 30 year bonds at a high yield of 5.216%Markets:WTI crude oil down $2.05 to $81.21US 10-year yields down 4.3 bps to 4.64%Gold down $58 to $4348S&P 500 up 0.65%, touches intraday recordEUR leads, CHF lagsIt was a dull day in FX but lively elsewhere. The oil market was a strange one and made even stranger beacuse oil companies didn't follow the price of crude lower. Virtually all the headlines have been about attacks in the oil chokepoints in the Middle East and crude fell notably. That left the lingering feeling that someone knows something.Treasury yields declined and that could have been oil related but it also could have been on a lower PPI, helping the inflation picture. The Fed's Barkin sounded reluctant to hike, though certainly not close-minded. Gold was also lower, perhaps on profit taking or in response to lower signs of inflation -- though it didn't respond to cooling CPI or non-farm payrolls data earlier this month.Call it a sign of the summer doldrums.Meanwhile, there are no days off for the degens, as Sandisk shares paced US markets with a 14% gain. Intel, Fedex, Netflix, and Meta were among the other -- much smaller -- winners. Cisco shares fell 8% on 'conservative' revenue guidance (though it was higher than the consensus). Workday was another notable gainer on takeover rumors. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.