US headline consumer inflation continued to accelerate, rising 3.0% in January vs. the year-ago level — the highest since last June. “The long national nightmare of inflation isn’t over yet for consumers, businesses, and investors,” writes Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FwdBonds, in a research note on Wednesday. “There could be some seasonality that pushes prices up at a faster clip in January, but today the news for [Federal Reserve] officials is all bad.” Josh Jamner, investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments, notes: “The ‘wait and see’ Fed is going to be waiting longer than anticipated after a red-hot January CPI inflation report. “This report puts the final nail in the coffin for the rate cut cycle, which we believe is over.”
