Newsweek
Inflation accelerated at a slower pace in January but came in higher than expected, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed, prompting analysts to suggest that the Federal Reserve may take longer to lower borrowing costs.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose by 3.1 percent in January, a slightly smaller jump than the previous month’s 3.4 percent. But the January CPI was higher than what economists expected. They had anticipated it to come in at 2.9 percent.
“The Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates in the first half of this year,” Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors®, said in a statement shared with Newsweek. “But rate cuts of 3, 4, or even 5 rounds will be possible in the second half of the year…Mortgage rates will be bouncy week-to-week but will most likely settle towards 6% by the year end.”
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