Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Consumer Price Index inflation higher in January than it was
originally forecasted and hitting the highest annual rate since May.
Inflation is supposed to be slowing down, but what's happening.
Joining us now on the KWA Common Spirit Health Hotline
to talk more about it, it's ABC News contributor and
editor in chief of investor Pedia.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's Caleb Silver.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Caleb, thank you so much for your time. As always,
our business and Money editor Pat Wit are joining us
on this conversation as well. Obviously, we have a couple
inflation reports to talk about today, but let's start with
what we saw yesterday with the CPI report. What were
some of the driving factors for this higher than expected report?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Yeah, the usual suspects, food, shelter and utilities, energy prices,
transportation obviously weighing on that as well, but really across
the boards, and food driven in large part by eggs,
which everybody is pretty well aware of by now. That's
the av and flu impact to supply and demand issue there,
but also generally higher prices across the boards for a
lot of the things, not just dining in at home,
(00:58):
but dining out as well. So also medical bills and
medical insurance, all the things we pay for on a
monthly basis unfortunately trending higher. But don't forget January is
kind of a month where a lot of retailers and
businesses reset their prices for the year, So prices probably
went up because they increased them as well, and we
paid more into that.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Now we also got this morning and the Producer Price Index.
And while PPI and CPI rhyme, they don't always move
in tandem. What do things look like with the PPI today,
and how does that correlate to consumer prices if at all.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, that's up about zero point four percent, you know,
month over a month, and it also driven by higher
energy prices. We had little spike and oil prices. Don't
forget in the last month or so, a lot of
the tariffs and the threats of tariffs. Those drive oil
prices higher. They settle down a little bit, but gas
prices were a little higher or have been trending a
little bit higher as well. So there's that that's impacting
(01:48):
the producers who bring the goods in and then bring
them sell them off to the businesses where we end
up paying for those as consumers, So they're not exactly
the same, but they do have that connection and that
higher energy prices and prices affect both of them.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
So Caleb, with both of these in mind, is the
FED looking at more of like a weight and see
approach when it comes to any movement in interest rate cuts?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Well, Fed cher J. Powell has been on Capitol Hill
the past couple of days in his semi annual testimony there,
and he's been asked about that. But he's been saying,
and he said it at the FED at FED meeting
last week, there in no hurry to lower interest rates.
The economy is actually doing well, but inflation's been sticky high.
He's not too concerned, he said, about the three percent
annual rate. They don't get excited about one or two months.
But if the trend keeps trending higher, what that might
(02:32):
mean or rate? You hiking rates? And we know the
President is not into that idea at all. He was
asked whether he's heard from the White House or whether
he's heard from Dose. She said, hey, he's not commenting,
but he has not been contacted yet.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Now, we also have tariffs either in place or being threatened.
How is that all playing into what's going on with
the economy right now. Yeah, and F. J.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Powell is asked about that as well, and he said,
we can't really tell you what we're going to do
withitary policy until we know the impact of these tariffs.
We are hearing from the White House that there'll be
reciprocal tariffs on nations imposing tariffs on US goods coming
up this week as well. We know about the twenty
five percent tariffs on steel and aluminum and the threatened
tariffs on Canada and Mexico that could go into place
in a few weeks. So those drive prices higher. They
(03:17):
have a tendency to slow the economy, certainly in the
near term, because consumers get tapped out on the spending
as prices rise. Also, they mess with supply chains. All
of that is creating a lot of uncertainty in the economy,
and that's translating both into the way we feel as consumers,
but also the volatility in the stock market.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
ABC News contributor and Veskipedia editor in chief. It's Caleb Silver.
Thanks Caleb, thank you.
Consumer Price Index inflation higher in January than it was
originally forecasted and hitting the highest annual rate since May.
Inflation is supposed to be slowing down, but what's happening.
Joining us now on the KWA Common Spirit Health Hotline
to talk more about it, it's ABC News contributor and
editor in chief of investor Pedia.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's Caleb Silver.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Caleb, thank you so much for your time. As always,
our business and Money editor Pat Wit are joining us
on this conversation as well. Obviously, we have a couple
inflation reports to talk about today, but let's start with
what we saw yesterday with the CPI report. What were
some of the driving factors for this higher than expected report?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Yeah, the usual suspects, food, shelter and utilities, energy prices,
transportation obviously weighing on that as well, but really across
the boards, and food driven in large part by eggs,
which everybody is pretty well aware of by now. That's
the av and flu impact to supply and demand issue there,
but also generally higher prices across the boards for a
lot of the things, not just dining in at home,
(00:58):
but dining out as well. So also medical bills and
medical insurance, all the things we pay for on a
monthly basis unfortunately trending higher. But don't forget January is
kind of a month where a lot of retailers and
businesses reset their prices for the year, So prices probably
went up because they increased them as well, and we
paid more into that.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Now we also got this morning and the Producer Price Index.
And while PPI and CPI rhyme, they don't always move
in tandem. What do things look like with the PPI today,
and how does that correlate to consumer prices if at all.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, that's up about zero point four percent, you know,
month over a month, and it also driven by higher
energy prices. We had little spike and oil prices. Don't
forget in the last month or so, a lot of
the tariffs and the threats of tariffs. Those drive oil
prices higher. They settle down a little bit, but gas
prices were a little higher or have been trending a
little bit higher as well. So there's that that's impacting
(01:48):
the producers who bring the goods in and then bring
them sell them off to the businesses where we end
up paying for those as consumers, So they're not exactly
the same, but they do have that connection and that
higher energy prices and prices affect both of them.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
So Caleb, with both of these in mind, is the
FED looking at more of like a weight and see
approach when it comes to any movement in interest rate cuts?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Well, Fed cher J. Powell has been on Capitol Hill
the past couple of days in his semi annual testimony there,
and he's been asked about that. But he's been saying,
and he said it at the FED at FED meeting
last week, there in no hurry to lower interest rates.
The economy is actually doing well, but inflation's been sticky high.
He's not too concerned, he said, about the three percent
annual rate. They don't get excited about one or two months.
But if the trend keeps trending higher, what that might
(02:32):
mean or rate? You hiking rates? And we know the
President is not into that idea at all. He was
asked whether he's heard from the White House or whether
he's heard from Dose. She said, hey, he's not commenting,
but he has not been contacted yet.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Now, we also have tariffs either in place or being threatened.
How is that all playing into what's going on with
the economy right now. Yeah, and F. J.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Powell is asked about that as well, and he said,
we can't really tell you what we're going to do
withitary policy until we know the impact of these tariffs.
We are hearing from the White House that there'll be
reciprocal tariffs on nations imposing tariffs on US goods coming
up this week as well. We know about the twenty
five percent tariffs on steel and aluminum and the threatened
tariffs on Canada and Mexico that could go into place
in a few weeks. So those drive prices higher. They
(03:17):
have a tendency to slow the economy, certainly in the
near term, because consumers get tapped out on the spending
as prices rise. Also, they mess with supply chains. All
of that is creating a lot of uncertainty in the economy,
and that's translating both into the way we feel as consumers,
but also the volatility in the stock market.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
ABC News contributor and Veskipedia editor in chief. It's Caleb Silver.
Thanks Caleb, thank you.
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