The US inflation rate remained consistently high in October, despite the Fed's attempts to curb record-breaking prices.
The publication of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. The forecasts of economists surveyed by Bloomberg are related to the fact that key data will show an accelerated monthly growth of 0.6% from 0.4% in September, which was to some extent facilitated by the first jump in energy prices in four months.
According to forecasts, the broadest measure in October will be 7.9% year-on-year, which is slightly lower than the September level of 8.2% year-on-year. In addition, the Core CPI, which excludes volatile components such as food and energy, is forecast to be 0.5% on a monthly basis and 6.5% on an annual basis, having changed insignificantly compared to 0.6% and 6.6%, respectively, last month.
The Fed is closely monitoring "core" inflation, which allows policymakers to look more specifically at areas of production such as, for example, housing. The headline CPI has changed on the contrary due to unstable energy prices this year.
Economists at Bank of America (BofA) expect housing to be the main driver of October's key indicators again, as housing costs account for almost a third of the consumer price inflation basket.