CPI, June and inflation
Digest more
While pundits looked with their magnifying glasses for tariffs in consumer goods prices, it was in services, which are not tariffed, where inflation took off again.
For the second consecutive week mortgage rates moved higher, as the likelihood of the Federal Reserve acting diminished after the Consumer Price Index report.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was unexpectedly hot, showing a 0.3% increase month-over-month and a 2.7% rise year-over-year. In response, markets fell from recent highs. This is likely due to investors reassessing the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Services inflation, especially rent and shelter inflation, continued to decline, offsetting rising core goods inflation that may be influenced by tariffs, Steve Hou, a quant researcher at Bloomberg, said in a Tuesday post on X.
UK inflation figures showed a surprise upward change between May and June, CPI rising 3.6 per cent, as the struggle to bring down costs continues. Increasing food and fuel prices last month underline the challenge to do so.
Explore more
June CPI inflation fell to 2.1%, driven by a sharp drop in vegetable prices. A good monsoon should help keep food inflation contained in the coming months However, not all food categories show easing. Prices of oils and fats rose over 17%, suggesting uneven trends that may require policy attention
While Tuesday's focus was on the tariff-related inflation hit to Treasuries, it's been a rough week for government bonds everywhere - especially in Japan as long-term yields there hit new highs this week ahead of the July 20 upper house election and related fiscal policy worries.