Consumer Price Index (CPI)
April's Consumer Price Index (CPI) is next on this week's economic calendar, scheduled for release at 8:30 AM ET Tuesday. This highly important report measures inflation at the consumer level of the economy. These results are watched closely because rising inflation makes long-term securities, such as mortgage-related bonds, less attractive to investors and causes the Fed to be reluctant to lower key short-term interest rates again. The overall reading is expected to be up 0.6% with gas prices still high, while the more important core reading that excludes volatile food and energy costs is expected to rise 0.4% for the month. Both are predicted to rise from March’s pace on an annual basis. Favorable news for bonds and mortgage rates will be readings that indicate inflation was softer than thought.