Inflation is heading in the wrong direction, prompting financial markets to reconsider their monetary policy expectations.
“Biden inflation up!” President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post shortly after the January consumer price index (CPI) report.
“I would say we’re close, but not there on inflation,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee during his semi-annual monetary policy report testimony. “Last year, inflation was 2.6 percent—so great progress—but we’re not quite there yet.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate was 3 percent in January and surged by a hotter-than-expected 0.5 percent month over month. This represented the fourth straight increase in the annual rate, which is now at its highest level since June….