March CPI report released today: Live updates on stock market and more

Today we’ll be getting a fresh read on inflation. This comes after Friday’s jobs report which showed that hiring remains strong despite the headwinds facing the economy. U.S. employers hired 236,000 new workers, a solid gain but the weakest showing since December 2020. The unemployment rate fell from 3.6% to 3.5%.

After the jobs report was released, the likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates by a quarter percentage point at its meeting next month surged, according to the CME FedWatch Tool which analyzes Fed funds futures contracts data.

Last month’s consumer price index report flashed a warning sign to the Fed. Though inflation eased on an annual basis for the eighth straight month, it rose sharply on a monthly basis. That led the Fed to hike interest rates at its last meeting despite financial turmoil following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.

If March’s CPI report doesn’t show that inflation is improving sufficiently, it’ll all but guarantee the Fed will hike interest rates by at least a quarter percentage point at its May meeting.

Follow along for live updates:

When is CPI report released?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the CPI report at 8:30 a.m. ET.

CPI report expectations

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict prices rose by 0.2% on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, they estimate a 5.2% rise in prices.

Core CPI

Core CPI is a measure of the change in consumer prices excluding energy and food which are generally the most volatile components of CPI. Economists expect core CPI for March to rise to 5.6% on an annual basis from 5.5%.

Dow futures

Futures trading for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were higher Wednesday leading up to the report’s release.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CPI report on inflation released today: Follow for live updates