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Consumer price report expected to show inflation isn’t going away

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Cartons of eggs are displayed at a grocery store with a warning that limits will be placed on purchases as bird flu continues to affect the egg industry on Feb. 10, 2025 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The January consumer price index report is likely to tell a familiar story: Another month, another expected miss for inflation as it relates to the Federal Reserve‘s goal, with concerns aplenty about what happens from here.

So instead of looking for hope from the headline readings, which aren’t expected to change much from December, markets will pore through the details for trends that could shed some hope that the Fed eventually will be able to start lowering rates again.

“Inflation is stuck above target, with risks skewed to the upside, activity is strong, and the labor market appears to have stabilized around full employment,” Bank of America economist Stephen Juneau said in a note. “If our January CPI forecast is correct, the case for the Fed to stay on hold will strengthen further.”

Bank of America is one of the most pessimistic voices on Wall Street in terms of expecting further Fed easing.

In fact, the bank’s economists believe the Fed will stay on hold for the rest of the year — and beyond — as inflation holds higher, the labor market remains strong and the economy generally stays out of the kind of trouble that would necessitate rate cuts. Traders otherwise figure the Fed to approve a quarter percentage point reduction in July and then stay put, according to CME Group data.

More immediately, Bank of America’s forecast pretty much meshes with the Dow Jones outlook for January CPI: a monthly increase of 0.3% for the all-items index and a 12-month inflation rate of 2.9%, the latter same as December. Excluding food and energy, the respective core readings are projected at 0.3% and 3.1%, the annual mark just a notch down from the 3.2% reading in December.

From a details standpoint, increases are likely to be driven by rises in car prices and auto insurance as well as communications, according to Goldman Sachs. The firm expects only moderate downward pressure from airfares and, importantly, the rent-related categories that make up about one-third of the CPI weighting and have been largely responsible for inflation holding above the Fed’s 2% goal.

Things only get more complicated from here.

Optimism despite tariff concerns

While economists expect a good share of disinflation from some key categories, President Donald Trump’s tariffs could act as an inflationary counterweight.

“Going forward, we see further disinflation in the pipeline over the next year from rebalancing in the auto, housing rental, and labor markets, but an offset from an escalation in tariff policy,” Goldman economists said in a note.

There’s been some good news lately, though. While the University of Michigan’s consumer survey showed a surprising bump in inflation expectations, other measures indicate the outlook is actually softening.

The National Federation of Independent Business survey for January showed that just 18% of the small business gauge reported inflation as being their biggest issue, the lowest level since November 2021. Also, the Cleveland Fed’s first-quarter Survey of Firms’ Inflation Expectations showed that CEOs and other top executives see CPI to run at a 3.2% rate over the next 12 months. While that’s well above the 2% standard, it is a sharp drop from the 3.8% in the fourth quarter.

Amid the conflicting information, the Fed is expected to stay put.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday said the central bank is in no rush to cut rates further, while Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack noted the persistence of inflation that could be exacerbated by tariffs as reason to stay put.

“While monetary policy needs to be forward-looking in nature, forecasts are no substitute for realizations. Or as they might have put it in Jerry Maguire, ‘show me the low inflation,'” Hammack said.

Economics

Germany’s election will usher in new leadership — but might not change its economy

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Production at the VW plant in Emden.

Sina Schuldt | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

The struggling German economy has been a major talking point among critics of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ government during the latest election campaign — but analysts warn a new leadership might not turn these tides.

As voters prepare to head to the polls, it is now all but certain that Germany will soon have a new chancellor. The Christian Democratic Union’s Friedrich Merz is the firm favorite.

Merz has not shied away from blasting Scholz’s economic policies and from linking them to the lackluster state of Europe’s largest economy. He argues that a government under his leadership would give the economy the boost it needs.

Experts speaking to CNBC were less sure.

“There is a high risk that Germany will get a refurbished economic model after the elections, but not a brand new model that makes the competition jealous,” Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, told CNBC.

The CDU/CSU economic agenda

The CDU, which on a federal level ties up with regional sister party the Christian Social Union, is running on a “typical economic conservative program,” Brzeski said.

It includes income and corporate tax cuts, fewer subsidies and less bureaucracy, changes to social benefits, deregulation, support for innovation, start-ups and artificial intelligence and boosting investment among other policies, according to CDU/CSU campaigners.

“The weak parts of the positions are that the CDU/CSU is not very precise on how it wants to increase investments in infrastructure, digitalization and education. The intention is there, but the details are not,” Brzeski said, noting that the union appears to be aiming to revive Germany’s economic model without fully overhauling it.

“It is still a reform program which pretends that change can happen without pain,” he said.

Geraldine Dany-Knedlik, head of forecasting at research institute DIW Berlin, noted that the CDU is also looking to reach gross domestic product growth of around 2% again through its fiscal and economic program called “Agenda 2030.”

But reaching such levels of economic expansion in Germany “seems unrealistic,” not just temporarily, but also in the long run, she told CNBC.

Germany’s GDP declined in both 2023 and 2024. Recent quarterly growth readings have also been teetering on the verge of a technical recession, which has so far been narrowly avoided. The German economy shrank by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, compared with the previous three-month stretch, according to the latest reading.

Europe’s largest economy faces pressure in key industries like the auto sector, issues with infrastructure like the country’s rail network and a housebuilding crisis.

Dany-Knedlik also flagged the so-called debt brake, a long-standing fiscal rule that is enshrined in Germany’s constitution, which limits the size of the structural budget deficit and how much debt the government can take on.

Whether or not the clause should be overhauled has been a big part of the fiscal debate ahead of the election. While the CDU ideally does not want to change the debt brake, Merz has said that he may be open to some reform.

“To increase growth prospects substantially without increasing debt also seems rather unlikely,” DIW’s Dany-Knedlik said, adding that, if public investments were to rise within the limits of the debt brake, significant tax increases would be unavoidable.

“Taking into account that a 2 Percent growth target is to be reached within a 4 year legislation period, the Agenda 2030 in combination with conservatives attitude towards the debt break to me reads more of a wish list than a straight forward economic growth program,” she said.

Change in German government will deliver economic success, says CEO of German employers association

Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics, sees some benefits to the plans of the CDU-CSU union, saying they would likely “be positive” for the economy, but warning that the resulting boost would be small.

“Tax cuts would support consumer spending and private investment, but weak sentiment means consumers may save a significant share of their additional after-tax income and firms may be reluctant to invest,” she told CNBC.  

Palmas nevertheless pointed out that not everyone would come away a winner from the new policies. Income tax cuts would benefit middle- and higher-income households more than those with a lower income, who would also be affected by potential reductions of social benefits.

Coalition talks ahead

Following the Sunday election, the CDU/CSU will almost certainly be left to find a coalition partner to form a majority government, with the Social Democratic Party or the Green party emerging as the likeliest candidates.

The parties will need to broker a coalition agreement outlining their joint goals, including on the economy — which could prove to be a difficult undertaking, Capital Economics’ Palmas said.

“The CDU and the SPD and Greens have significantly different economic policy positions,” she said, pointing to discrepancies over taxes and regulation. While the CDU/CSU want to reduce both items, the SPD and Greens seek to raise taxes and oppose deregulation in at least some areas, Palmas explained.

The group is nevertheless likely to hold the power in any potential negotiations as it will likely have their choice between partnering with the SPD or Greens.

“Accordingly, we suspect that the coalition agreement will include most of the CDU’s main economic proposals,” she said.

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