The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March is set to be released on Wednesday, followed by Thursday’s Producer Price Index. The CPI is expected to shape the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, including when it will begin to implement interest rate cuts.
According to Wall Street estimates, March’s CPI is set to show a 3.4% gain on an annual basis, thereby rising from February’s 3.2% year-over-year gain. Core inflation is set to rise 3.7% year-over-year, a little lower than February’s yearly rise of 3.8%.
Should the estimates prove to be accurate, the CPI data would suggest that a challenging road lies ahead in the battle to bring inflation down to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Still, investors are largely expecting the central bank to introduce rate cuts this year, possibly in June. Optimistic forecasts expect the Fed to implement as many as three interest rate cuts over the remainder of 2024.
