Economists are expecting consumer prices to rise in January, according to the Dow Jones report, with the overall consumer price index (CPI) set to increase by 0.5%.[0] Core CPI, excluding food and energy, is projected to rise 0.3%, bringing the core CPI inflation rate to 5.5%.[0] The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.81%, its highest close since December 30, while short-term rates remained relatively stable.[1]
Fed officials have been stressing the need for further interest-rate increases to bring inflation under control, with Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin saying the central bank may need to raise interest rates higher than previously anticipated if inflation fails to ease.[2]
The Fed has implemented eight rate increases since March 2022, and currently sits between 4.5 and 4.75 percent.[3] It is expected that rates will surpass 5 percent and that no rate cuts will be declared until 2024, unless inflation decreases considerably quicker than anticipated.[3]
Meanwhile, Bill Smead, chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management, stated that inflation in the U.S. is likely to be “far stickier” and could last a decade.[4] He said, “We think the inflation is going to be far stickier and longer lasting—in fact, a decade because in the United States, we have incredibly favorable demographics.”[5]
In other news, U.S. stocks descended at Wednesday’s open as investors pondered the outlook for interest rates after economic data showed strong consumer spending and an uptick in inflation across January.[6] U.S. crude oil prices also sank 0.6% to $78.59 a barrel, off intraday lows, while Credo Technology Group (CRDO) crashed after hours after warning of a massive shortfall in its April fourth quarter.[7]
Overall, inflation is likely to remain an issue in the coming months, and the Fed is likely to continue its campaign of raising interest rates in order to tame it.[8] However, many economists are still uncertain as to how far the Fed will have to go in order to bring inflation down to the target level. Investors will be closely watching the CPI data set to be released Tuesday to get a better idea of the state of inflation.
0. “Fade The CPI; Here’s What Matters To The Fed, S&P 500” Investor’s Business Daily, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.investors.com/news/economy/fade-the-cpi-inflation-report-what-matters-to-the-fed-sp-500
1. “Dow Jones Dives 345 Points On Hot Inflation Data; Shopify Plunges On Earnings” Investor’s Business Daily, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-fall-ahead-of-inflation-data-jobless-claims-shopify-plunges-on-earnings/
2. “Stock market news today: Stocks rise after strong retail sales data” Yahoo News, 15 Feb. 2023, https://news.yahoo.com/stock-market-news-today-february-15-2023-130622082.html
3. “CPI: Prices rise 6.4 percent in January, seventh month of easing inflation” The Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/02/14/inflation-easing-cpi-january/
4. “Inflation will remain ‘sticky’ for a decade because Gen Z and millennials are in their prime spending years, an investment chief says” Fortune, 14 Feb. 2023, https://fortune.com/2023/02/14/smead-sticky-inflation-decade-millennials-gen-z-spending
5. “U.S. inflation is likely ‘far stickier’ and could last a decade, Bill Smead says” CNBC, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/14/bill-smead-us-inflation-is-far-stickier-and-could-last-a-decade.html
6. “U.S. stocks are falling after retail sales fuel rate fears By Investing.com” Investing.com, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/us-stocks-are-falling-after-retail-sales-fuel-rate-fears-3004284
7. “Stocks Plunge Before The Open As Sticky U.S. Inflation Sparks Rate Worries, U.S. Retail Sales Data In Focus” Barchart, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.barchart.com/story/news/14218794/stocks-plunge-before-the-open-as-sticky-u-s-inflation-sparks-rate-worries-u-s-retail-sales-data-in-focus
8. “Wholesale prices surge again, PPI shows, in sign U.S. inflation is unlikely to ease quickly” MarketWatch, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wholesale-inflation-surges-in-early-2023-ppi-shows-2efefb24