By Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters) - Spurred by falling battery prices, electric vehicles could hit price parity with fossil-fuel models in Europe in 2024 and the U.S. market in 2026, and account for two thirds of global car sales by 2030, according to new research.

A report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) on Thursday predicts battery costs should halve this decade, from $151 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2022 to between $60 and $90 per kWh, making EVs "for the first time as cheap to buy as petrol cars in every market by 2030 as well as cheaper to run."

Batteries are expensive and account for around 40% of an EV's price tag, a cost that has so far made them unaffordable for many consumers.

But those prices are steadily coming down as carmakers invest in new battery chemistries, materials and software to make more efficient EVs, RMI senior principal Kingsmill Bond told Reuters.

According to RMI's analysis, the rapid growth of electric models in Europe and China "implies that EV sales will increase at least six-fold by 2030, to enjoy a market share of 62% to 86% of sales."

EV sales in the European Union jumped almost 61% in July versus the same month in 2022, accounting for 13.6% of all car sales.

The European Union aims to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel models from 2035.

The United States has not yet committed to a date for ending sales of combustion engine models, but California and New York are both targeting 2035 to switch to selling only zero-emission models.

"It's not radical whatsoever to see the continued exponential growth of electric vehicles," RMI's Bond told Reuters. "This is what one should expect."

According to the RMI research, oil demand for cars peaked in 2019 and will fall by at least 1 million barrels per day every year after 2030.

Research released concurrently from Exeter University's Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (EEIST) project also predicts exponential growth in EV sales.

It suggests EVs will reach a "tipping point" in price parity with fossil-fuel models as early as 2024 in Europe, 2025 in China, 2026 in the U.S. and 2027 in India "for medium-sized cars, and even sooner for smaller vehicles."

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's new home prices fell at the fastest pace in 10 months in August, official data showed on Friday, as conditions in the property sector continued to worsen despite a recent flurry of support measures.

The 0.3% fall month-on-month came after a 0.2% drop in July, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. Prices were down 0.1% from a year earlier, after a 0.1% decline in July.

China has in recent weeks delivered a raft of measures to boost home buying sentiment, including easing some borrowing rules, and relaxing home purchasing curbs in some cities.

These policies have given major cities like Beijing a boost in new home sales, but some worry they might be short-lived and could potentially dry up demand in smaller cities.

China's central bank said on Thursday it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, its second such easing this year.

"The more material risks in the near-term come from some property developers and financial institutions, and a small RRR cut could do very little to help," said Nomura in a research note on Friday.

Beijing may have to introduce more aggressive property easing measures to deliver a real recovery, analysts say

Authorities may lift almost all restrictions on home transactions, invest more in the urban renovation programme, speed up infrastructure spending and restructure local government debt, said Nomura.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO) on Thursday cut China's property sector outlook to negative from stable, citing economic growth challenges, which the rating's agency said will dampen sales despite government support.

China's property crisis is seen as one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a sustainable economic recovery, with rising risks of default among private developers threatening to imperil the country's financial and economic stability.

The U.S. government's borrowing is set to continue with an estimated issuance of an additional $450 billion in Treasury bills during the fourth quarter of 2023, as projected by Barclays on Thursday. This forecast is based on the intent of the Treasury Department to end the year with a cash deposit of $750 billion at the Federal Reserve.

This upcoming wave of Treasury bills follows a period since June, during which money-market funds absorbed over $1.6 trillion in supply. Analysts predict that the incoming supply will be readily absorbed, given the record inflows into money-market funds this year. As of the start of September, government fund inflows have surged to nearly $4.7 billion out of a total asset pool of about $5.6 trillion.

The proportion of bills as part of outstanding government debt has increased to around 22.4% as of August, according to Barclays. This is the highest level seen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and exceeds the average range of 15%-20% observed since the 1980s. This surge in Treasury bill issuance began following the U.S. debt-ceiling deal in June.

Despite this increase, there has been no shortage of buyers at bill auctions. The yield on a 3-month Treasury bill reached a 22-year high of 5.46% on Thursday, indicating strong demand. Since June 1, demand for 3-month auctions has surpassed supply by approximately three times, while demand for 4-week, 8-week, and 6-month bill issuance has remained strong.

Barclays strategist Joseph Abate anticipates that this trend will continue, driven by expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in November and steady policy through September 2024. He also foresees sustained demand from money-market funds and individual investors who are willing to navigate the government’s TreasuryDirect website for yields around 5%.

In related financial news, stock markets showed upward momentum on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 index, and the Nasdaq Composite Index all recording gains since Monday.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is set to decide on Thursday whether to raise its key interest rate to a record peak in what should be its final step in the fight against inflation, or take a break as the economy deteriorates.

The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro faces a dilemma. Even after nine consecutive rate hikes, prices are rising at more than twice its 2% target and are not expected to slow to that level for another two years.

But higher borrowing costs across much of the world and China's economic malaise are taking a toll on economic growth, with a recession in the euro zone now a distinct possibility.

Analysts and investors had been leaning towards a pause in the ECB's rate increases until Reuters reported on Tuesday that the central bank was set to raise its forecast for inflation next year to more than 3%, bolstering the argument for a hike.

Policymakers saw the 2024 projection as crucial to determine whether inflation, currently still above 5%, was heading back to target or risked getting stuck at a higher level for too long.

"The inflation momentum is simply too strong for the ECB to pause," Danske Bank economist Piet Haines Christiansen said.

A majority of economists in a Sept 5-7 Reuters poll had expected the ECB to hold rates steady this week but with the mood shifting, money markets now assign a 63% chance of a hike, expected to be the last in a cycle that began in July 2022. [0#ECBWATCH].

In contrast, markets have fully priced in unchanged rates at next week's meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which started raising rates earlier and has moved higher than the ECB.

An increase of 25 basis points on Thursday would take the rate the ECB pays on bank deposits to 4.0%, the highest level since the euro was launched in 1999.

Just 14 months ago, that rate was languishing at a record low of minus 0.5%, meaning banks had to pay to park their cash securely at the central bank.

UniCredit analysts said Thursday was a now-or-never moment for another rise in borrowing costs.

"If the ECB does not hike, it will sound hawkish and will try to convince financial markets that rates could be moved higher at one of its subsequent meetings," they said in a note.

"We doubt that this will be possible and expect that a decision to hold rates steady today would mark the end of the tightening cycle."

NEW FORECASTS

Supporters of a hike this week are likely to argue it is needed because inflation, including underlying measures that strip out volatile components, remains too high, with a recent surge in energy prices threatening a new acceleration.

But the brisk tightening cycle - twice as steep as normally envisaged by the ECB's own stress tests of the banking sector - has already left its mark on the euro zone economy.

With the manufacturing sector, which typically needs more capital to operate, already suffering as a result of higher borrowing costs, lending to companies and households has fallen off a cliff.

Services has now also started to struggle following a brief post-pandemic boom in tourism.

The euro zone's biggest economy, Germany, is bearing the brunt of an industrial slump and heading for recession, according to several forecasts.

On Thursday, the ECB is also expected to cuts its growth projections for this year and next, leading some economists to argue it should hold off from raising rates this month.

"While core inflation is only showing tentative signs of easing, the growth outlook has darkened quickly, implying less need for tightening," Natixis economist Dirk Schumacher said.

Once its rate increases end, the ECB is likely to begin a debate on mopping up more of the cash it pumped into the banking system through various stimulus schemes over the last decade, although no decision on that matter was expected this week.

The ECB will announce its rate decision at 1215 GMT. ECB President Christine Lagarde will hold a news conference at 1245 GMT.

By Simon Johnson

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Need a cheap, reliable second-hand car? Think Sweden, where a nosedive in the local crown currency over the past 18 months is proving a blessing for used-car dealers and other exporters.

But 20 years after Swedes voted in a referendum to stay out of Europe's single currency, the crown's 17.5% slide against the euro is not making everyone happy. Many in a nation used to high living standards are being forced to tighten their belts.

"Many foreign car dealers think there is a sale on in Sweden," Joachim Agren, senior key account manager at the Swedish branch of BCA, Europe's largest vehicle remarketing company according to its website, told Reuters. He said overseas buyers now account for the majority of its sales at auction, doubling their 30% share of recent years.

Purchasing power abroad has tumbled with the currency. In the second quarter, Swedes were the 12th biggest buyers of property in Spain, according to Registradores de Espania - four places lower than two years earlier and behind the Chinese.

Companies like KP Energy, which imports solar panels to sell to trade buyers, cite the damaging effects of higher purchase costs and rising interest rates, which hit household spending.

"It impacts us a huge amount when the crown weakens against the euro and when the demand picture changes," its CEO Filip Wiqvist said.

KP Energy had forecast strong growth this year after the market doubled in size in 2022. Now, it expects a contraction, even with Sweden and the European Union pursuing ambitious climate goals.

"The green transition is going to going to slow radically in the short term, with the euro-crown one of the reasons," Wiqvist said.

The weaker currency did help lift Sweden's exports by 6% in the year to July, despite slower global growth.

But currency volatility makes planning tricky even for exporters, said Jan Soderstrom, CEO of Quintus Technologies, which makes advanced presses used in sectors like aerospace and consumer electronics.

Higher import prices as a result of the crown's slide could also mean the central bank must keep interest rates higher for longer to fight inflation, piling pain on households and businesses struggling with loan repayment costs.

Another hike to 4.0% on Sept. 21 is widely expectedand banking group Nordea says another could come in November before policy tightening ends.

That could deepen and lengthen a downturn the EU already predicts will make Sweden one of the bloc's worst-performing economies this year.

"The Riksbank is between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand they want to get inflation down ... on the other hand they don't want to crash the economy," Nordea Chief Economist Annika Winsth said.

MYSTERY

Swedes feeling the pinch have warmed somewhat to the euro in recent months, though a majority want to stick with the crown.

A Demoskop poll this week showed 42% would vote "No" to joining the euro, while 34% would support it. On Sept. 14, 2003, 55.9% voted to reject membership, and no major party is pushing for a new referendum.

But why the crown has lost around 30% of its value against the single currency over the last 10 years is unclear.

Sweden's economy is strong, state finances are healthy - government debt is among the lowest in the EU - and its well-capitalized banks are among the region's most profitable.

In June, accounting firm KPMG said the crown was "mysteriously weak".

Analysts suggest a number of factors.

Like many central banks, the Swedish Riksbank's main policy rate was at zero or below from 2014 to 2022 and in 2016 it even threatened to intervene in the foreign exchange market to weaken the crown.

While the rate has risen to 3.75%, in line with the European Central Bank's, markets may still perceive the Riksbank is dovish, SEB Senior Economist Robert Bergqvist said.

The shocks of the 2008-9 global financial crisis, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine may also have encouraged investors towards traditional safe-haven currencies.

The Riksbank's asset purchases in recent years have made crown securities less liquid, reducing their appeal for foreign investors. Uncertainty around Sweden's accession to NATO - prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and currently blocked by Turkey - could also be a negative factor.

Sweden's real estate market, burdened by rising interest rates and heavy debts is a worry, although the Riksbank says there is little risk to financial stability.

It also says an economic slowdown will not be too deep, after Sweden's economy outperformed its European peers during the pandemic.

"If you look at pricing of bank equity or credit default swaps of the banks ... it doesn't seem to price that kind of risk on the Swedish economy, just on the exchange rate," central bank deputy governor Martin Floden said earlier this month.

Believing the crown is around 20% undervalued, the Riksbank has hedged its own foreign currency exposure in anticipation of future strengthening.

"We and many others are convinced the crown will strengthen at some time, but we would like to see it happen soon rather than over the long term," Floden said.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank said on Thursday it needs to make coordinated efforts to contain household debt, which is at levels that could undermine economic growth and financial stability.

"Unlike in major countries, household debt increased continuously without de-leveraging and has reached a level that hinders macroeconomic and financial stability," the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in its quarterly monetary policy report.

"As financial imbalance must be managed below a certain level for stable growth in the mid- and long-term, it is necessary to continue making steady efforts for adjustment," the BOK said.

South Korea's household borrowing grew for a fifth straight month in August by the biggest amount in two years, driven up by rising mortgage demand, prompting financial authorities to tighten certain loan regulations.

The BOK said in the report it was more effective for macro-prudential policy to coordinate with monetary policy than for policy responses to be made in isolation.

South Korea's house prices, which snapped a 13-month decline in July, are "still over-valued" when compared with income and other economic factors, the BOK said.

Despite a slowdown in household debt growth during the latest monetary tightening cycle, the ratio to nominal gross domestic product (GDP) is still high, according to the BOK, "far surpassing" the threshold at which its negative impact on growth increases.

Central bank policy board members kept the door open for further rate hikes at their review in August, at which it kept interest rates unchanged, but they also flagged increased risks to economic growth, meeting minutes showed this week.

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced and U.S. Treasuries oscillated within a tight range on Wednesday after data showed underlying inflation remained on its slow, downward trajectory, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve will let interest rates stand, for now.

The S&P 500 gained modestly and interest-rate sensitive mega caps, led by Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), gave the tech-heavy Nasdaq the edge.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially unchanged.

U.S. consumer price (CPI) data showed prices heated up in August due to rising energy prices, but the "core" measure, which excludes volatile food and energy items, remained on its meandering path down to the Federal Reserve's average 2% annual inflation target.

"Since markets were weak the last few days, maybe people were fearing more core inflation than we saw," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. "(The report) confirms the idea of the Fed waiting to see what further data show before a possibly hiking rates in November."

"CPI was slightly positive on a core basis, but surging gasoline prices affect retail sales," Tuz added. "The extra $20 you spend filling your tank is $20 less you spend on other things."

Financial markets have priced in a 97% likelihood of the Federal Reserve standing pat at next week's monetary policy meeting, leaving the key Fed funds target rate at 5.25%-5.50%, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.89 points, or 0.03%, to 34,635.1, the S&P 500 gained 9.8 points, or 0.22%, to 4,471.7 and the Nasdaq Composite added 59.92 points, or 0.44%, to 13,833.53.

European shares ended lower as investors looked beyond the CPI report and a drop in euro zone industrial production to focus their attention on this week's European Central Bank policy meeting.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.32% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.10%.

Emerging market stocks lost 0.03%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.15% lower, while Japan's Nikkei lost 0.21%.

U.S. Treasury yields were range-bound in the wake of the CPI report, which suggested the Fed will keep interest rates steady at its upcoming meeting.

Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 5/32 in price to yield 4.2445%, from 4.264% late on Tuesday.

The 30-year bond last rose 8/32 in price to yield 4.3309%, from 4.346% late on Tuesday.

The greenback steadied against a basket of world currencies following the inflation data, which did little to move the needle regarding the Fed's expected rate hike pause.

The dollar index was flat, with the euro down 0.16% to $1.0735.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.22% versus the greenback at 147.40 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2491, up 0.06% on the day.

Oil prices dipped as a surprise U.S. inventory build helped market participants look past expectations of tight supply.

U.S. crude slipped 0.36% to settle at $88.52 per barrel, while Brent settled at $91.88 per barrel, down 0.2% on the day.

Gold prices edged lower, hovering near two-week lows after the CPI report helped give the dollar a slight boost.

Spot gold dropped 0.2% to $1,909.19 an ounce.

LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices showed the most widespread falls in 14 years in August as demand weakened against the backdrop of elevated mortgage costs and economic uncertainty, an industry survey showed on Thursday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, slumped to -68 in August from -55 in July.

Thursday's house price balance marked the weakest reading since February 2009 and was below the -56 forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, said the survey pointed to a sluggish housing market with little sign of relief in prospect.

"Prices are continuing to slip albeit that the relatively modest fall to date needs to be seen in the context of the substantial rise recorded during the pandemic period," Rubinsohn said.

The survey results echoed other signs of slowdown in the property sector.

Mortgage lenders Halifax and Nationwide have both shown prices falling in monthly terms as the Bank of England's sustained run of interest rate rises, persistent inflation and a prolonged cost-of-living crisis squeeze home-buyers.

Official figures, released on Wednesday, showed the country's economy shrank by a sharper-than-expected 0.5% in July after public sector strikes and unusually rainy weather weighed on output.

Overall across Britain, RICS' measure of agreed sales was the weakest since April 2020 when much of the property sector was on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and new buyer enquiries fell marginally from the month before.

In the rental market, tenant demand continued to outstrip landlord instructions, limiting the number of available homes to rent, while a net balance of +60% surveyors expect to see a rise in rental prices over the coming three months.

Separate figures from property website Zoopla on Thursday showed the joint-highest rental affordability squeeze, with tenants spending 28.4% of their earnings in July on rent.

By Prerana Bhat

BENGALURU (Reuters) -The Federal Reserve will leave its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged at the end of its Sept. 19-20 policy meeting and probably wait until the April-June period of 2024 or later before cutting it, according to economists in a Reuters poll.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell underscored the "higher-for-longer" mantra for rates in a speech at the annual Jackson Hole central banking symposium in August and maintained another rate hike might still be needed to bring inflation down to the 2% target.

But other members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), including some of the more hawkish ones, have raised the possibility of holding off on another rate hike to allow more time to gauge the impact of the cumulative 525 basis points of tightening delivered by the Fed since March 2022.

More than 95% of economists, 94 of 97, in the Sept. 7-12 Reuters poll predicted the U.S. central bank would hold the federal funds rate in the current 5.25%-5.50% range next week, in line with market expectations.

Still, nearly 20% of the economists, 17 of 97, predicted at least one more rate rise before the end of the year, including three who expected one this month.

"Though we continue to expect the Fed to remain on hold at the Sept. 20 FOMC meeting, we would not be surprised to see most officials continue to project one more rate hike by year-end in their updated 'dot plot,'" said Brett Ryan, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, referring to the interest rate projections released by Fed policymakers on a quarterly basis.

"While there has been meaningful progress to date on inflation ... the Fed will not be able to take this for granted."

Much of the immediate outlook for Fed policy will depend on the release on Wednesday of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for August. The CPI was expected to have risen 0.6% last month, after a 0.2% rise in July, according to economists polled by Reuters. If realized, that would mean an acceleration in the annual rate to 3.6% from 3.2%.

JOB MARKET

The unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in August, raising hopes among those who don't want to see another rate hike that the U.S. labor market was finally cooling.

But the Reuters poll of economists forecast that the jobless rate would average 3.7% this year and rise only slightly to 4.3% in 2024, suggesting the Fed even then will not be far off its goal of full employment.

House prices and rents were also expected to remain elevated now that a relatively brief U.S. housing market correction appears to be over, according to a separate Reuters poll.

That may put the brakes on further declines in inflation, which is not predicted to reach the Fed's target until at least 2025.

That suggests rate cuts may still be a long way off.

Of the 87 respondents who had forecasts until the middle of 2024, 28 put the timing of the first rate cut in the first quarter and 33 had it in the quarter after that. Only one said the Fed would cut rates this year.

Around 70% of those respondents, 62 of 87, had at least one rate cut by the end of next June. Still, all but five of 28 respondents to an extra question said the bigger risk was that the first Fed cut would come later than they currently forecast.

"Tight labor and housing markets present upside risk to inflation ... That means that absent a recession, policymakers are likely to keep policy rates on hold well into 2024," said Andrew Hollenhorst, chief U.S. economist at Citi.

A serious economic downturn could justify an earlier rate cut, but that is looking less likely. The economy was expected to expand by 2.0% this year and 0.9% in 2024, according to the poll.

The median view from a dwindling sample of economists who provided responses on the probability of a recession within one year fell further to 30%, after tumbling below 50% for the first time in nearly a year last month. It peaked at 65% in October 2022.

"In our base-case forecast, the economy enters recession in the first half of next year, which would have the Fed cutting by Q2. But the risk is that growth holds up and the first cut is pushed out later," Citi's Hollenhorst said.

(For other stories from the Reuters global economic poll:)

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices likely increased by the most in 14 months in August amid a surge in the cost of gasoline, but an expected moderate rise in underlying inflation could encourage the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold next Wednesday.

The consumer price report from the Labor Department on Wednesday will be published a week before the Fed's rate decision. It would follow on the heels of data this month showing an easing in labor market conditions in August.

Prices outside the volatile food and energy categories, the so-called core inflation, were likely tame for a third straight month, with the year-on-year increase forecast to have been the smallest in nearly two years.

"It's going to be a mixed picture, with headline inflation picking due to higher gasoline prices and core inflation remaining contained," said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. "The Fed would be encouraged by the continued moderation trend in core inflation, but it's still too high."

The consumer price index likely increased by 0.6% last month, according to a Reuters survey of economists. That would be the largest gain since June 2022 and would follow two straight monthly advances of 0.2%.

Gasoline prices accelerated in August, peaking at $3.984 per gallon in the third week of the month, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That compared to $3.676 per gallon during the same period in July.

Food prices are expected to have continued rising at a moderate pace. In the 12-months through August, the CPI is forecast to have jumped 3.6% after climbing 3.2% in July. While that would mark the second straight month of a pick up in annual inflation, year-on-year consumer prices have come down from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022. The Fed has a 2% inflation target.

The core CPI, excluding food and energy, is forecast to have increased 0.2% for a third straight month amid declining prices for used cars and trucks. Though rents continued to increase, the trend is cooling and a further slowdown is expected as more apartment buildings come on the market.

In the 12 months through August, the core CPI is forecast to have increased by 4.3%. That would be the smallest year-on-year rise since September 2021 and would follow a 4.7% gain in July.

Financial markets overwhelmingly expect the Fed to leave its policy rate unchanged next Wednesday, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool. Since March 2022, the U.S. central bank has raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by 525 basis points to the current 5.25%-5.50% range.

Details on services inflation could, however, leave the door open for a rate hike in November. Airline fares were unlikely to repeat the steep declines recorded in June and July. The cost of hotel and motel rooms likely rebounded amid strong summer demand. That probably kept services inflation, excluding shelter, elevated last month.

Some economists believe inflation risks are tilted to the upside, citing rising insurance costs, especially for motor vehicles. Health insurance costs in the CPI report are expected to rise from October after the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the report, recently announced changes to its methodology for measuring these costs.

"Under our new forecast for CPI health insurance, we continue to expect core CPI and especially core services ex. housing inflation to accelerate in the coming months but to slow more quickly next spring," said Ronnie Walker, an economist at Goldman Sachs, in a note.

A strike in the automobile sector could disrupt supply chains and boost motor vehicle prices if it lasted more than a month, economists said. United Auto Workers members last month voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a work stoppage at General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) , if an agreement over wages and pension plans was not reached before the current four-year contract expires on Sept. 14.

"While we all appreciate that the house and renting story is going to be an increasingly important theme that will help suppress core inflation in coming months and quarters, I'm just a little bit nervous because of these factors," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York.  

(Reporting Lucia Mutikani; editing by Timothy Gardner)