US core inflation did not land sharply higher than expected for the first time in four months. Headline CPI readings were in line with expectations, but core inflation was a little softer than expected. That doesn’t mean that core inflation was soft last month, but it does provide one month’s relief in what remains a full cycle debate over transitory and longer-lived drivers. At an annualized rate, the 0.3% m/m seasonally adjusted rise in US core inflation translates into a 4% pace which continues to strongly overshoot the Fed’s run slightly hotter revised goals statement. As chart 1 shows, that annualized pace ... (full story)