An unexpectedly hot inflation reading prompted a duo of economists from major Wall Street firms to call for a monster rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week. Jonathan Millar, a Barclays economist said that the Fed has every reason to shock markets and hike more aggressively in June than was expected due to Friday’s consumer price index report. Millar stated in a note that the May CPI was “even firmer than expected, driven by broad price pressures.” With little to no indications that they have peaked we expect the FOMC’s next meeting to raise 75bp. Aneta Markowska, Jefferies’s economist, now anticipates that the Fed will hike by 0.75 percent. Markowska stated in a note that “we believe today’s inflation data – both the CPI inflation estimates and the UMich inflation forecasts – will be game changers and force the Fed into a higher gear” and that the Fed should tighten its policy. Prices rose 8.6% in May, the highest increase since December 1981. Dow Jones polled economists expecting a rise of 8.3%. Two rate hikes totaling 75 base points have been implemented by the Fed, with a 50-basis point increase in May. Their next rate hike will be by half percent, as consensus is.
