U.S. Inflation Rises 2.7% in November, Marking Second Straight Month of Increases – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
9:32 AM – Wednesday, December 11, 2024
A recent report from the Labor Department indicated that U.S. inflation saw an uptick in November, marking the second consecutive month of increases. This shift comes as the Federal Reserve deliberates on the timing for potential interest rate cuts.
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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) experienced a year-over-year increase of 2.7% compared to last November, slightly higher than the 2.6% rise recorded in October, yet in line with analysts’ forecasts, according to information released by the Labor Department on Wednesday.
On a month-over-month basis, the CPI rose by 0.3%, exceeding economists’ anticipated increase of 0.2%.
Moreover, the report highlighted an annual inflation rise of 3.3% in November.
“The increase in the inflation rate won’t be enough to spoil Christmas,” commented Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, in a recent note.
“The headline CPI was consistently above 3% earlier this year and has now stabilized below that threshold. Even though the monthly variations can be somewhat erratic, we believe the Fed is likely to overlook these fluctuations and persist on their easing trajectory,” he added.
Simultaneously, current interest rates stand at 4.6%, surpassing the 2.9% “neutral” rate that officials consider essential for sustained economic performance.
Investors largely anticipate a third wave of interest rate reductions from the Federal Reserve during their meetings on December 17th-18th, although Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently indicated a more cautious approach moving forward.
“We are in a position to exercise more caution as we seek to identify the neutral rate,” said Powell at a New York Times event last week.
At a press conference in November, he stated: “The pressing question is – will we see clarity in December? We’ll have more data by then.”
Furthermore, following the inflation report, the odds of a quarter-point rate cut jumped to an impressive 99.9%, escalating from 86.1% reported on Wednesday morning, as per CME FedWatch.
Despite inflation remaining above the 2% mark, the central bank enacted a half-point interest rate cut in September, followed by a quarter-point reduction in November, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
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