Inflation cooled slightly to 3.3 percent in May, the Department of Labor reported on Wednesday morning. That's a welcome sign that tees up the possibility the Federal Reserve will signal plans to cut interest rates later today.
A rare one-two punch that will indicate whether the fight against inflation is being won makes Wednesday one of the most important days of the year for economic news, CNBC reports. This morning's consumer price report from the Department of Labor was an encouraging sign, and all eyes now turn to this afternoon's decision by the central bank's officials. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 11 times since March 2022 to help combat inflation, and those increases have made mortgage rates, car loans, and other forms of credit more expensive. The central bank has not raised rates since July, when it set the baseline interest rate just north of 5 percent, but it hasn't cut them either.
