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Surprisingly strong U.S. inflation in January stoked investor fears that a heating economy and looming tariffs could corner the Federal Reserve, undercutting interest rate-cut hopes and even raising the threat of a hike. U.S. consumer prices increased more than expected in January, reinforcing expectations the central bank will be in no rush to resume cutting interest rates, particularly as economic uncertainty is exacerbated by the expected inflationary impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on key U.S. trade partners. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in congressional testimony this week that the Fed was prepared to keep rates unchanged until inflation resumes its decline.

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Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Wednesday it is not clear when the Fed can cut interest rates again given uncertainty around the path of inflation and the scope of possible changes to tariff and other policies coming from the Trump administration. "It's going to take a while to just figure out what is going on," Bostic said in a presentation to business executives in Atlanta as data showed inflation jumped in January and the administration was levying extensive new import taxes on basic metals and other goods.

The Federal Reserve's progress on taming inflation has stalled out. That could mean fewer rate cuts in 2025.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday the central bank has not been cut off from any data it needs to do its work. Speaking before a House panel as the Trump administration has been stripping government websites from various data sets, Powell he wasn't aware of losing anything the Fed needs, while saying he'd speak up if issues emerged. Powell was also asked about outside access to critical systems the Fed and the Treasury Department use to process government payments and Powell noted access to these tools is done "very carefully."

January's Consumer Price Index will serve as the latest test of whether inflation pressures have eased further.

Super Micro Computer shares surged Wednesday after the company offered a strong sales outlook for 2026 on demand for AI servers and said it expects to submit its delayed regulatory filings in time to avoid delisting.

New and used car prices were mixed to start the year in January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading, but used prices continued trending higher, with January’s jump the largest since May 2023.

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