The consumer price index (CPI) for December 2022 met expectations by falling for the sixth consecutive month to register an increase of 6.5% year-over-year. This has helped the market, living in trepidation since the beginning of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, catch its breath.
However, since Jerome Powell and his team of central bankers have cautioned time and again against premature complacency in the current campaign against inflation, the Fed might be unlikely and unwilling to take their foot off the brake.
