Rate cut hopes dim as US inflation rises

Staff reporter and Bloomberg

US inflation rose 3 percent on an annual basis in January, slightly higher than the market estimate of 2.9 percent, adding more uncertainties to US Federal reserve's interest rate cut pace this year.

The so-called core consumer price index that excludes food and energy is seen rising 0.3 percent in January from December in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report due yesterday.

Meanwhile, the energy segment rose 1.1 percent and the gasoline index rose 1.8 percent - this will play into the Trump administration's policy to unleash lower fuel costs, while the fuel oil segment rose 6.2 percent.

Notably, the egg index rose by 15.2 percent, the most since 2015.

Michael Brown of Pepperstone says any rate reductions in the first half of 2025 now seem highly unlikely.