May's Producer Price Index (PPI) data saw wholesale prices fall by 0.2% last month. On Wednesday, the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) print showed inflation to have plateaued in May, with monthly and annual core CPI rising lower than expected. At the center of all this inflation data, the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates higher for longer at the June FOMC meeting this week.
Evercore ISI Vice Chairman Krishna Guha sits down with The Morning Brief in-studio to talk about the Fed's monetary policy and how regulators are "just trying to track that the basic story is still on track" regarding their inflation target.
"We don't have to be in a real rush to get to 2.0 [percent inflation rate], but we don't want to get stuck at three," Guha says, listing off certain economic factors that may lead to a more positive inflation picture: "I am optimistic that we're heading in the right direction. I think it's reasonable for the Fed to say, 'okay, but I'm not just going to turn over one good card and say, that's all right, I want to turn over several cards and check we're in more of a trend here.'"
Guha also comments on the string of employment and jobs data the Fed has been thoroughly examining as per its dual mandate agenda: "Payroll survey versus household survey — truth is probably something a little bit in between. I do think that the payroll survey is probably a better measure of job creation at this point in time. It generally is."
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This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.