Futures markets are also expecting a rate cut. Investors peg the chances of a quarter-point interest rate cut at nearly 96%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

A Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September, the first this year, followed perhaps by another before year-end remains the base forecast for most economists polled by Reuters amid rising concerns about the health of the world's biggest economy.

A hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation report just made the Federal Reserve’s decision regarding a September rate cut even harder, raising questions of whether higher prices for businesses will be passed on to consumers,