The prices paid by consumers for goods rose 0.3% in March, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

U.S. factories, mines and utilities produced less in March, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday, as concerns about the war helped drive fears of sinking demand.

The national average price of diesel fuel continued its slide, falling another 1.5 cents a gallon to $1.539, the Department of Energy said Monday.

Retail sales in the United States rose 2.1% during March, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The government reported Thursday that jobless claims remained above a point that signals labor market weakness, while the country's February international trade gap narrowed as U.S. consumers bought less from abroad but U.S. firms sold goods more overseas.

Treasury Secretary John Snow said in a televised interview on cable business news channel CNBC that President Bush's package of proposed tax cuts is "the right medicine for the economy..

The national average price of diesel fuel fell for the fourth time in as many weeks, declining 4.8 cents a gallon to $1.554, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

During March, the U.S. job market shrank by 108,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.

The U.S. services economy joined the factory sector in a contraction, according to a report by the Institute for Supply Management released Thursday.

The number of orders placed with U.S. factories fell for the first time in three months during February, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.