Sales of existing homes grew in July to the fastest rate since 2007, and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region picked up this month — fresh signs of steady economic growth that is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this year.

While other data on Thursday showed a slight increase in the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week, the trend remained consistent with strong momentum in the labor market.

“We continue to expect both economic growth and labor market activity to continue shifting higher, providing the justification for the Fed to begin the normalization in monetary policy in September,” said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York.