Atlanta Fed Report Shows Soft Inflation Expectations

Inflation data have been very soft with sweeping declines seen for this week's reports on import & export prices and also producer prices and last week's consumer price report. Joining the run lower is the January report on year-ahead inflation expectations at the business level, down 3 tenths to 2.0 percent. This is the lowest reading since May last year and underscores what may be a disinflationary theme emerging in the economy. These results do not speak to the need for Federal Reserve rate hikes.