NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed at record levels on Wednesday, as data indicated U.S. inflation growth may have peaked, while sectors tied to economic growth advanced on the heels of the passage of a large infrastructure bill.
The Labor Department said the consumer price index increased 0.5% last month after climbing 0.9% in June, the largest drop in month-to-month inflation in 15 months, easing concerns about the potential for runaway inflation. read more
“Certainly, the numbers show you more deceleration,” said Steven Ricchiuto, U.S. chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA LLC in New York.
“This number is going to put the Fed in a little bit of a quandary because they’ve gone out with all this rhetoric about tapering, about tightening rates, about being defensive and the inflation numbers aren’t quite where they should be, but they’re certainly not showing that this thing is out of control.”
Investors have been closely attuned to inflation pressures in recent months, concerned that a continual rise in prices could push the Federal Reserve to begin to scale down its ultra-accommodative policy stance earlier than anticipated.
Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George said on Wednesday that with the U.S. economy growing at a robust pace, it signals the “time has come to dial back the…
