The chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Powell, said that the latest inflation data released is in line with the Fed's expectations, and the authorities still need more good inflation data to cut interest rates.
Earlier, the US announced that the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index rose by 2.5% year-on-year in February, which was in line with expectations; it rose by 0.3% monthly, and the expected increase was 0.4%. During this period, the core PCE price index rose by 0.3% monthly and 2.8% year-on-year, which were both the same as expected.
Powell responded at an event, saying that the data is in line with expectations, reflecting the slowdown in inflation, but not as good as some data in the second half of last year, so the market should not expect to see an excessive reaction from the Fed.
He emphasized that the current situation of the US economy is good, and the authorities will not rush to cut interest rates. They need to see more evidence to confirm the fall in inflation before making a decision to cut interest rates.
ICAP economist Lou Crandall believes that the core PCE data is not very good, but it is not too bad.
