Both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank received some relief this week after consumer price growth in the U.S. and Europe remained on the decline. This development is certain to assure both central banks that their latest interest rate policy decision was indeed correct, with the Fed and the ECB both deciding to pause rates this month.
The United States’ annual core metric excluding food and energy of the Fed’s preferred inflation measure fell below the 4% mark in August for the first time in nearly two years. The euro zone’s equivalent measure is expected to have slowed to 4.8% in September – a 12-month low.
Still, with crude prices heading towards $100 per barrel, the fight to curtail inflation is not over yet. The personal consumption expenditure price index is expected to pick up on a monthly basis to exhibit one of its highest levels this year when released on Friday. Headline euro zone inflation, however, is expected to have fallen to a two-year low of 4.5%.