Analysis: December CPI is unlikely to alter the Fed's current cautious stance

BlockBeats News, January 13, "Fed's Whisperer" Nick Timiraos wrote that the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) is unlikely to alter the Fed's current wait-and-see approach, as officials are likely to want to see more evidence before cutting rates, demonstrating that inflation is stabilizing and gradually declining.

The Fed has cut the benchmark interest rate in the last three meetings, most recently in December, despite the halt in last year's inflation decline. Officials lowered interest rates out of concerns about a greater-than-expected slowdown in the labor market.

To resume rate cuts, Fed officials may need to see new evidence that labor market conditions are deteriorating or that price pressures are easing. The latter may require at least a few more months of inflation data to materialize. (FX678)