The market anticipates that the U.S. February Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data will indicate ongoing inflationary pressures. According to BlockBeats, consensus expectations suggest a month-on-month increase to 0.4% and a year-on-year rate holding at 2.8%, with core PCE year-on-year at approximately 3.0%, significantly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
Analysts highlight that the current inflation rebound is primarily driven by rising commodity prices and increasing energy costs, while 'super core services inflation' remains notably sticky, making a short-term decline unlikely.
In this context, the Federal Reserve is expected to maintain the interest rate range of 3.50%-3.75% at its April meeting, marking the third consecutive pause in rate cuts.
Market pricing has also shifted rapidly, with over 97% of traders betting on no change in April, and expectations for rate cuts within the year have cooled significantly, with mainstream views shifting towards a 'later, less' easing path.