President Donald Trump‘s repeated calls for aggressive rate cuts collided with economic reality Tuesday, as June’s rising inflation dynamics offered a win—at least temporarily—for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell‘s cautious stance.
Headline inflation in June accelerated to 2.7% year over year, up from 2.4% in May and the highest reading since February.
On a monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3%—the largest increase in five months. Both figures were in line with economists forecasts.
Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, rose 2.9% from a year ago, slightly below the 3% consensus. Monthly core CPI came in at 0.2%, a touch under the expected 0.3%, but still above May’s 0.1%.
In recent months, Powell has consistently resisted political pressure to lower interest rates, maintaining a wait-and-see approach amid growing uncertainty from rising tariffs.
That patience now appears warranted.
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June Inflation Data Validates Powell’s Trump Pushback
“Consumer Prices low. Bring down the Fed Rate, now!!!,” Trump commented about the June’s inflation report. …