Highlights
The US CPI data (inflation at retail level) for August +0.2% as expected. For the past 12 months, the CPI was up 2.5%, slightly less than the expected 2.6%. However, what the government calls the “core” CPI was up 0.3% in August, which was more than the expected 0.2% and core inflation was up 3.2% for the past 12 months, which was as expected, but well above the Fed’s target of 2%.
As a result of the CPI numbers, the interest rate markets show the odds of a half percent interest rate cut this month fell from 34% to 8% yesterday morning.
The number of US business bankruptcies may influence the Fed’s interest rate decision. There have been 452 corporate bankruptcies in the United States since the start of 2024, the highest number in four years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.