The U.S. December PPI data rose only moderately, with the increase falling short of expectations

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. December PPI data rose moderately, but this is unlikely to change the view that the Federal Reserve will not cut rates again before the second half of this year, due to the strong performance of the labor market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Tuesday that the PPI rose 0.2% last month, while economists had previously predicted a 0.3% increase. Year-on-year, the PPI rose 3.3% after a 3.0% increase in November. The surge in the year-on-year increase reflects the price declines from last year, particularly as energy prices have been excluded from the calculation.

Currently, at least one Wall Street firm (Bank of America) now believes that the Federal Reserve's easing cycle has ended. Goldman Sachs expects two rate cuts in June and December this year, down from the previous forecast of three. (Jin Shi)