Shoppers during the grand opening of a Costco Wholesale store in Kyle, Texas, on Thursday, March 30, 2023.Jordan Vonderhaar | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesEven with inflation running well above the Federal Reserve’s goal, markets became more convinced Wednesday that the central bank will be cutting interest rates by as soon as September.The annual inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index fell to 4.9% in April, its lowest level in two years but still more than double the Fed’s 2% target.related investing news 20 hours agoStill, it was enough for traders to raise the chances of a September rate cut to near 80%, according to the CME Group’s Fed Watch tracker of prices in the fed funds futures market. In fact, the October fed funds contract implied a policy rate of 4.84%, or nearly a full quarter point below the current effective rate of 5.08%.Among Wall Street analysts and economists, though, the case for a rate cut remains shaky.”The timing of a first rate cut will depend both on how quickly inflation slows and how quickly the job market becomes less tight,” said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. A softer employment picture and further declines in the inflation rate …
