Read the highlights of this week’s commentary from Helios:
- Inflation improved in May, with headline prices rising 4.0% over the last year, a significant improvement versus the 4.9% yearover-year increase in April. Monthly prices rose 0.1%, in line with expectations, and also was a significant improvement versus April’s 0.4% monthly increase. Core inflation was a bit more stubborn unchanged on a monthly basis at 0.4% with upward pressure on used car prices a significant driver of the increase.
• The Federal Reserve kept rates steady, as expected, following their June policy meeting. The bigger news was comments from Powell saying the Fed was a couple of years away from cutting interest rates and the dot plot indicating there were one or two more rate hikes possible for the rest of the year. The market may not quite believe the Fed and the futures market is still placing odds the Fed will cut rates early next year.
• Retail sales surprised on the upside, keeping the story of a resilient consumer alive, as retail sales rose 0.3% in May, all ahead of expectations for a 0.2% decline.
Want to learn more about Helios Quantitative Research? Click Here to schedule a meeting with one of our representatives!