Ahead Of The Bell: Consumer Price Index

Price declines also have been registered in China and India.

Many economists don't expect the Fed to raise interest rates until the unemployment rate stops rising. It shot up to a 25-year high of 9.4 percent in May and many forecasters believe the jobless rate will top 10 percent by year's end.

More layoffs have been announced in the past week. MySpace, the social networking Web site owned by News Corp., said Tuesday it will cut nearly 30 percent of its work force, or about 420 jobs.

Cessna Aircraft Co., the nation's largest builder of corporate jets, said Friday it will cut 1,300 jobs by August, on top of 6,900 layoffs that it previously announced.