No Rate Cuts? The Inflation Genie IS Still Out The Bottle!

The latest data from the US BLS showed that superficially the core consumer price index, regarded as a measure of underlying inflation because it strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose 2.7% in December from a year earlier. That’s just a touch more than the 2.6% annual advance in November, which was the smallest since early 2021. The absence of clean readings on inflation, as well as signs the US labor market is stabilizing after a run of weak payrolls figures, help explain why Federal Reserve officials are expected to hold the line on interest rates in the near-term. […]