The modest rise in US PPI data for December is unlikely to change the view that the Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates again before the second half of this year due to the strong performance of the job market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Tuesday that PPI rose 0.2% last month, while economists had previously predicted that PPI would rise 0.3%. In the year-on-year increase, PPI rose 3.3% after rising 3.0% in November. The surge in year-on-year growth reflects the decline in prices last year, especially the prices of energy products have been excluded from the calculation. At present, at least one Wall Street institution (Bank of America) now believes that the Fed's easing cycle has ended. Goldman Sachs expects two rate cuts in June and December this year, lower than the previous three. (Jinshi)