Wall Street Reacts To Today's CPI Print: "Seals The Deal For A September Rate Cut"

For once CPI came in exactly where  it was supposed to (headline YoY was a small miss at 2.9% but all other prints came in line), which should limit the surprise for pundits, even if it does not limit the amount of hot air they are contractually mandated to spout. So for those seeking confirmation (or denial) bias, here is a snapshot of what some of the more prominent (and certainly faster) analysts and strategists on Wall Street had to say about today's CPI number.

Nick Timiraos, Fed mouthpiece at the WSJ

What the July CPI means for the Fed: i) The July CPI extends a run of much cooler inflation and makes a September rate cut from the Fed as close to a lock as these things get; ii) This report makes it easier at the margin to avoid dissents on the first cut; iii) This report doesn't resolve the debate over whether to start with 25 bps vs 50 bps. To get 50 bps, you'd probably need to see something bad in the labor market....  A big question for the September FOMC will be how many rate cuts are penciled in for the rest of the year. (Remember, the September SEP is unusual. Because the SEP is calendar-based, it's basically guiding on the path of policy at the Nov+Dec meetings.) Mild inflation readings could make a three-cut baseline more likely