It was a data-packed week for the markets this week!

The catalyst for the week was the surge in the U.S. CPI inflation data.

In February, underlying U.S. inflation surpassed expectations for the second consecutive month.

The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed 0.4% from January and 3.2% from a year ago.

Meanwhile, the core CPI, excluding food and energy costs, surged by 0.4% from January, reflecting a 3.8% increase from a year ago.

This data reinforces the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on interest rate cuts.

We will know how and if interest rates move in the Fed’s upcoming policy meeting on March 19-20.

Our pro analysts have prepared themselves with a few exclusive trades for this upcoming BIG event. Click here to see their trades.

Here’s a scoop of other market movers from the week:

1. Producer Prices Rise: Apart from the CPI, prices paid to U.S. producers also saw an increase in February, driven primarily by higher fuel and food costs. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose by 0.6% from January, marking the largest monthly advance in six months.

2. U.K. Economic Growth: Britain’s economic output grew by 0.2% in January, meeting expectations after experiencing a shallow recession in the second half of 2023. However, GDP in January remained 0.3% lower than the previous year.

3. Japan Averts Recession: Japan narrowly avoided recession in the last quarter. The revised data shows gross domestic product (GDP) was 0.4% higher in the last three months of 2023 compared to a year earlier.

See how we are trading this data.

4. OPEC Outlook: OPEC reaffirmed its forecast for 2024, anticipating oil demand to grow by 2.2 million barrels per day. The report also predicts a rise in crude supply outside OPEC by 1.1 million barrels per day.

That’s a wrap for this week!

To your success,
Tad DeVan
Senior Currency Strategist
Market Traders Institute