- Greater-than-expected CPI could pressure a 50-basis-point move
- Fed policymakers usually prefer to move gradually at liftoff
A hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation print would push the Federal Reserve closer to considering its single-largest rate hike in more than two decades.
The January consumer price index, due Thursday, is one of the most important data releases before the central bank’s March meeting, which Chair Jerome Powell has signaled will kick off a series of interest-rate hikes.
A reading above the projected 7.2% annual advance in prices — which would be the largest since 1982 — may pressure the Fed to consider its first half-percentage-point increase since 2000, instead of a typical quarter-point move.
Steve Matthews and Reade Pickert | Bloomberg