The US Consumer Price Index excluding food and energy rose 0.2% month on month in March. The forecast was 0.3%.<\/p>\n
The outturn was 0.1 percentage points below expectations. This refers to the core CPI measure, which removes food and energy prices.<\/p>\n
The softer-than-expected core CPI reading of 0.2% for March is a significant dovish signal for us. This directly challenges the narrative that inflation is sticky and increases the likelihood of an earlier Federal Reserve rate cut. In response, market-implied probabilities for a June rate cut, as seen in Fed Funds futures, have jumped from around 40% to over 65% this morning.<\/p>\n
We should be looking at positioning for lower interest rates ahead. This involves buying derivatives tied to short-term rates, such as September SOFR futures, to lock in a lower future rate. The sharp drop in the 2-year Treasury yield by 15 basis points to 4.50% following the news strongly supports this trade.<\/p>\n
Lower rate expectations are a strong tailwind for equities, especially for growth and technology sectors. We should consider buying near-term call options on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) to capitalize on a potential relief rally. With the VIX dropping below 14, selling put spreads on the S&P 500 offers a way to collect premium with a defined risk profile.<\/p>\n
A more dovish Fed typically weakens the U.S. dollar against other major currencies. We are positioning for this by looking at bullish options strategies on the EUR\/USD pair. This dollar weakness also provides support for commodities, making call options on gold futures an attractive hedge against any lingering uncertainty.<\/p>\n
This environment feels very similar to the market pivot we saw back in late 2023. At that time, a series of cooling inflation reports led the Fed to signal the end of its hiking cycle, sparking a powerful rally in stocks and bonds. We believe a similar repricing event is now underway.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" US core CPI rose 0.2% in March, below 0.3% forecast, undershooting expectations by 0.1 points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t