Markets brace for PPI report
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: A report from the government this morning could make all this worse. Or perhaps, it’ll calm some people down. We’ll find out about prices at the wholesale level, a key inflation number. More now from Amy Scott.
AMY SCOTT: Investors will soon find out if their recent jitters are justified.
Federal Reserve officials have implied they’ll do whatever it takes to combat inflation. That means raising interest rates. And some worry the Fed will go too far and slow down the economy.
Analysts estimate that wholesale and consumer prices each rose by two-tenths of a percent last month, not including energy and food. Mark Zandi with Moody’sEconomy.com says it could be worse.
MARK ZANDI: I’d be very happy if we got two-tenths. It would suggest that inflation is certainly up from where it was a year ago. But it’s not a problem that’s overwhelming and certainly can be solved with, if any increase in interest rates ,a very modest increase in rates.
Other analysts are haunted by what happened last month, when a higher-than-expected inflation report sent the stock market tumbling.
In New York, I’m Amy Scott for Marketplace.
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