CNBC Daily Open: There's progress on trade and U.S. inflation — but it's harder to rely on such news

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Taken from CNBC’s Daily Open, our international markets newsletter — Subscribe today

Consumer prices in the U.S. have been benign since February, and the May reading continues that trend, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index report released Wednesday. Meanwhile, the May jobs report, while better than expected, revised downward the figures for March and April, exposing some weaknesses in the labor market.

In ordinary times, the scenario of muted inflation and a job market that’s starting to wobble would make cutting interest rates — a move that tends to boost the economy, sending prices and job openings higher — an easy decision for any central bank.

But we aren’t living in ordinary times, as CNBC’s Jeff Cox pointed out.