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(Reuters) -Two more Federal Reserve officials on Thursday gravitated toward an interest rate cut next month as solid economic data prompted financial markets to further scale back bets the U.S. central bank would kick off its monetary easing cycle with a bigger-than-usual reduction in borrowing costs. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic had previously been more wary than many of their colleagues about lowering borrowing costs too soon. Recent data "has bolstered my confidence" that inflation is returning to the central bank's 2% target rate, Musalem said during an event in Louisville, Kentucky.

Pakistan's economy could lose up to $300 million due to internet disruptions caused by imposition of a national firewall, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said in a press release on Thursday. Islamabad is implementing an internet firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms, according local media reports. The government denies the use of the firewall for censorship.

Thursday's retail sales report comes as markets are increasingly focused on data amid growing concerns about the health of the US economy.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, another sign that the job market remains resilient in the face of high interest rates. Jobless claims dropped by 7,000 to 227,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, which are a proxy for layoffs, remain low by historic standards.