Consumer Prices Cool As Expected, Triggering Modest Position Adjustments in Currency Markets
US consumer prices fell as expected in December, lending more plausibility to the Federal Reserve’s “soft landing” scenario, while leaving longer-term interest expectations largely unmoved relative to pre-release levels. According to data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning, the headline consumer price index rose 6.5 percent in December from the same period last year, down -0.1 percent on a month-over-month basis. Economists polled by the major data providers ahead of the release projected a 6.5 percent annual gain and a -0.1 percent drop relative to November. A seasonally-adjusted -9.4 percent month-over-month drop in gasoline prices did a...