USA In hindsight, Fed officials had every reason to remain cautious in timing the pivot to policy easing. Since the January 30th-31st FOMC meeting, the economic data has done little to instill further confidence that inflationary pressures will continue to recede over the coming months. Not only did the January employment report come in [...]
USA The Consumer Price Index climbed 0.3% in January, topping the median economist forecast calling for a 0.2% increase. The index rose 0.2% the prior month. Prices in the energy segment fell 0.9% as gains for utility gas services (+2.0%) and electricity (+1.2%) were more than offset by steep declines for fuel [...]
USA The ISM Services index was in the spotlight. In short, the service sector started the year off on a high note. In January, the headline index jumped to a reading of 53.4, up from 50.5 in December. The surprisingly strong upturn is evidence that service sector activity is still running at a [...]
USAOverall, the messaging from the Federal Reserve was positive. Chair Powell stated that the committee was pleased by the progress made thus far on returning inflation to their 2% target, but noted that they would require more time to assess the sustainability of current disinflation trends. With economic growth accelerating last year on the back [...]
