Rate Cut Hopes Fade with Ugly CPI Report

The week began with an inflation report that was anything but pretty. The Consumer Price Index came in hotter than expected for January, upsetting Wall Street and frustrating people who want the Fed to cut rates in the coming months. The report triggered a sharp stock sell-off but stocks have bounced back since then as investors and traders wondered whether they overreacted.   The CPI for January came out on Monday, February 5th with a .3% increase for January. Economists had expected a .2% increase. The annual gain did come down from 3.4% to 3.1%, but economists expected it to dip below 3% to 2.9%, according to CNBC. The report doesn’t show a significant increase in prices, but it does indicate that inflation continues to be sticky...   ...That’s it for this episode. You’ll find links to these stories if you’d like to more details on the CPI report. As for the housing market, you can get my forecast by watching 2024 Housing Markets Predictions webinar that I recorded with economist Rick Sharga. That’s at newsforinvestors.com under the Learn tab. If you’re not yet a RealWealth member, you can also sign up for free, while you are there. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast.   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/13/cpi-inflation-january-2024-consumer-prices-rose-0point3percent-in-january-more-than-expected-as-the-annual-rate-moved-to-3point1percent.html   2 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-goolsbee-says-some-high-monthly-inflation-readings-wont-knock-his-confidence-11486ac9?mod=economy-politics   3 - https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mortgage-rates-02132024 4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/inflation-data-jolted-stocks-and-bonds-this-will-decide-what-happens-next-63df42d1?mod=economy-politics