financetom
Economy
financetom
/
Economy
/
Fed seen sticking to regular-sized rate cuts after inflation data pops
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Fed seen sticking to regular-sized rate cuts after inflation data pops
Aug 14, 2025 7:19 AM

(Reuters) -A jump in U.S. wholesale prices last month looks to have all but erased the possibility that the Federal Reserve will deliver a jumbo-sized half-point interest-rate cut in September, though expectations for a quarter-point cut next month, followed by another in October, remain intact.

U.S. producer prices increased a more-than-expected 0.9% in July from June amid a surge in the costs of goods but also of services like machinery and equipment wholesaling, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday. The increase may get passed on to consumers, who so far have not experienced a strong overall increase in prices even as the Trump administration has ratcheted up tariffs.

"We expect a stronger pass-through of levies into consumer prices in coming months with inflation likely to climb modestly over the second half of 2025," Nationwide Senior Economist Ben Ayers said.

The rise in services inflation will be particularly worrisome to Fed policymakers like Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who said on Wednesday that he's on alert for signs that inflation is seeping into prices beyond those for goods affected directly by tariffs. An increase in services inflation, also evident in the consumer price data released on Wednesday, suggests that inflation could become more of a persistent problem, he said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search for a replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, has been pushing for a bigger rate cut next month, citing tame inflation, though on Thursday he said the Fed could start with a quarter-point move.

Before the data, traders put about a 3% probability on the idea of a half-point rate cut, with most bets firmly on a quarter-point cut. After the data, traders erased bets on a 50-basis-point reduction in rates.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who signaled earlier this week that she is increasingly open to the idea of a rate cut given the softening in the labor market, told the Wall Street Journal in a story published on Thursday that a 50-basis-point rate cut would signal an urgency about the job market that she does not feel. 

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Yellen says Trump's tariffs could derail US inflation progress, raise costs
Yellen says Trump's tariffs could derail US inflation progress, raise costs
Dec 10, 2024
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she was worried that President-elect Donald Trump's plans to levy broad import tariffs could derail progress in quelling inflation and raise costs for households and businesses. Yellen, at a Wall Street Journal CEO Council event, also said she was concerned about U.S. fiscal sustainability and said Congress needed to...
December Interest Rate Cut Is Almost A Done Deal: Could Wednesday Inflation Data Derail Investor Hopes? (CORRECTED)
December Interest Rate Cut Is Almost A Done Deal: Could Wednesday Inflation Data Derail Investor Hopes? (CORRECTED)
Dec 10, 2024
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove a sentence that was erroneously included. The November Consumer Price Index, released at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, could deliver the final piece of the puzzle for the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated Dec. 18 meeting. Markets are betting on an 86% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, as per CME FedWatch, which would...
Report blames US Labor Department's statistical leadership for data missteps
Report blames US Labor Department's statistical leadership for data missteps
Dec 10, 2024
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' leadership was to blame for a series of missteps this year that put the agency under scrutiny, a report said on Tuesday, noting that its shortcomings included being insufficiently focused on economic data releases, communication with users and providing adequate training. But the report from a team of experts made up...
December Interest Rate Cut Is Almost A Done Deal: Could Wednesday Inflation Data Derail Investor Hopes?
December Interest Rate Cut Is Almost A Done Deal: Could Wednesday Inflation Data Derail Investor Hopes?
Dec 10, 2024
U.S. policymakers will decide whether to cut interest rates. The November Consumer Price Index, released at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, could deliver the final piece of the puzzle for the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated Dec. 18 meeting. Markets are betting on an 86% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, as per CME FedWatch, which would lower the federal funds rate to...
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved