A new report on inflation is due this morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast that the annual rate of price increases will slow to 6.2% in January following a decline to 6.5% in December. More broadly, inflation has cooled recently from  a 40-year high of 9.1% in June.Â
Last month’s consumer price index report paved the way for the Federal Reserve to hike rates by a traditional 0.25 percentage point, a significant shift from its more aggressive stance at prior meetings when it raised rates by 0.75 and 0.50 percentage points.
Stocks rallied in response to the Fed’s latest decision, anticipating that the central bank was closer to pausing rate hikes. But January’s surprising blowout jobs report, which showed U.S. employers added 517,000 new positions, will prompt the Fed to continue raising rates to lower inflation given the low unemployment rate, Fed Chairman Powell said last week.
CPI expectations:Inflation could ease faster than Fed believes, reducing need for rate hikes, easing recession risk
Today’s data will likely provide more clarity on the Fed’s game plan for the rest of the year. Follow along for live updates:
CPI release timeÂ
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the CPI report at 8:30 a.m. ET.Â
Dow futures
Futures trading for the Dow Jones Industrial Average are moving slightly higher leading up to the report’s release. The index is up over 1% for the past week.
Elisabeth Buchwald is a personal finance and markets correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on Twitter @BuchElisabeth and sign up for our Daily Money newsletter here
Story Credit: usatoday.com