{"id":47272,"date":"2025-09-11T02:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T07:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=47272"},"modified":"2025-09-11T06:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T11:00:01","slug":"inflation-expected-to-have-climbed-in-august-as-fed-weighs-interest-rate-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=47272","title":{"rendered":"Inflation expected to have climbed in August as Fed weighs interest rate cut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fresh inflation<\/a> data to be released on Thursday will provide the latest look at price increases as some economists warn of a potential tariff-induced jump<\/a> in household costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new report arrives days before the Federal Reserve is set to announce a widely expected<\/a> quarter-point interest rate cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hotter-than-expected inflation reading could prompt Fed policymakers to put off slashing rates, while a lower-than-expected figure may nudge the central bank toward a larger half-point cut.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economists expect consumer prices to have climbed 2.9% over the year ending in August, which would mark a slight uptick from a 2.7% inflation rate recorded in the month prior. If the inflation reading matches economists\u2019 expectations, price increases would remain below the 3% rate recorded in January, the month President Donald Trump took office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent months, tariffs modestly contributed to the uptick in overall inflation, analysts previously told<\/a> ABC News, but overall price increases owed largely to a rise in housing and food products with little connection to Trump\u2019s levies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fresh data is set to arrive at a wobbly moment for the nation’s economy. In recent months, inflation has picked up while hiring has slowed, posing a risk of an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A jobs report last week showed<\/a> a sharp decrease in hiring in August, extending a lackluster period for the labor market. Meanwhile, a revision of previous hiring estimates on Tuesday revealed<\/a> the U.S. economy added far fewer jobs in 2024 and early 2025 than previously estimated, deepening concern about the health of the U.S. job market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weak jobs data has raised alarm among some analysts that the U.S. economy may be slipping<\/a> toward a recession, though the economy has largely averted the type of widespread job losses that often accompany a downturn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The economic conditions have put Fed policymakers in a bind. If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation, it risks tipping the economy into a downturn. On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a hiring slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to the flagging labor market, the Fed is expected to cut interest rates when policymakers meet next week. Investors peg the chances of a quarter-point rate cut this month at about 90% and the odds of a half-point cut at nearly 10%, according to CME FedWatch Tool<\/a>, a measure of market sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inflation data on Thursday will mark the latest figures unveiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) since Trump\u00a0fired<\/a>\u00a0BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer last month in response to a weak monthly jobs report. Trump claimed without evidence that McEntarfer had manipulated statistics for political reasons.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, had served in the federal government for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy,” McEntarfer said in a social media post after her dismissal. “It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Beach, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by Trump, condemned McEntarfer’s dismissal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach posted on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McEntarfer did not respond to an earlier ABC News request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

abcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fresh inflation data to be released on Thursday will provide the latest look at price increases as some economists warn of a potential tariff-induced jump in household costs. The new report arrives days before the Federal Reserve is set to announce a widely expected quarter-point interest rate cut. A hotter-than-expected inflation reading could prompt Fed policymakers to put off slashing rates, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":47273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1155],"tags":[2159,1252,880],"class_list":["post-47272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-expected","tag-inflation","tag-interest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47274,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47272\/revisions\/47274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}