The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released its much-anticipated consumer price index report, delayed a week and a half because of the government shutdown.
Here are the five most important takeaways:
“In aggregate today’s inflation readings are encouraging, albeit still above the Federal Reserve’s stated 2% inflation target. Yet, we think the overall inflation trend can continue to moderate over the next year ... as inflation breakevens have recently suggested, allowing the Fed to maintain its bias toward rate cuts.” — Rick Rieder, head of fixed income at BlackRock and a finalist for Fed chair to succeed Jerome Powell next year.
“Look beneath the headline and what one sees on a year ago basis are large increases in the cost of food, meat, housing, and utilities. Middle class & down-market households experiencing a slowing pace of wage growth are clearly having difficulty adjusting to persisting increases in the cost of living ... It’s only natural that those that inhibit the lower spur of the K ask: what is it that those celebrating a more modest increase in the pace of price increases see that indicates inflation is not eroding my bottom line & standard of living?” — Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSK, on the K-shaped economy.
