US: Stable inflation gives the Fed flexibility to respond to trade risks - RBC
Josh Nye, senior economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, notes that the both headline and core CPI of the US rose 0.1% in May.
Key Quotes
“Headline inflation slowed to 1.8% year-over-year and core dipped to 2.0%; both were a tick below consensus.”
“Core CPI inflation has been within 0.4 ppts of the 2% mark since 2011. The PCE deflator, the Fed’s preferred price measure, has been a few ticks lower on average and stood at 1.6% in April.”
“Today’s inflation report keeps the Fed’s options open. With the US economy showing few signs of inflationary pressure (at least from a consumer price standpoint), the central bank has leeway to respond to any slowdown in growth caused by tariffs and trade policy uncertainty.”
“Further escalation of the US-China trade dispute would increase the likelihood of a pre-emptive move from the Fed. Markets don’t appear to have high hopes for a potential Trump-Xi meeting, fully discounting a rate cut at the Fed’s July meeting and pricing in another move by October.”
Author
Sandeep Kanihama
FXStreet Contributor
Sandeep Kanihama is an FX Editor and Analyst with FXstreet having principally focus area on Asia and European markets with commodity, currency and equities coverage. He is stationed in the Indian capital city of Delhi.
