On May 15, local time, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the April CPI inflation report. Currently, the market expects April CPI inflation to be at 3.4%, with core inflation expected to be at 3.6%.
Last month, both month-on-month and year-on-year CPI inflation significantly exceeded expectations, severely dampening market expectations for rate cuts. The inflation reports over the past three months have led to a shift in market perceptions regarding inflation. From the notion that the inflation process was not proceeding smoothly to the belief that it had stalled, and finally to the recent perception of inflation reversal.
Furthermore, the tone of speeches by Fed officials confirms that there is no consensus within the Fed on the issue of the first rate cut.
Recent data has been mixed, but overall it has boosted expectations of rate cuts. Looking back at GDP and nonfarm payroll data performance in the first quarter, the current economic situation in the US can be summarized as "stubborn inflation, economic slowdown." Meanwhile, the New York Fed's inflation expectations survey and the University of Michigan's short-term/long-term inflation expectations have both risen from previous values. This indicates that market expectations of inflation reversal are not unfounded.
While it seems certain that there will be no rate cut in June, this does not diminish the importance of the upcoming CPI report. If CPI inflation exceeds expectations again this time (rising for the fourth consecutive month), it can no longer be explained by seasonal factors alone, and the market has every reason to believe that the inflation reversal has begun.
Now, let's look ahead to the April CPI based on the March CPI report.
Housing Inflation
Housing inflation has been key to the ability of core inflation to be lowered. Previously, the Fed had indicated that lower housing inflation would soon be reflected in the CPI weights. But this is not the case. Fed Chair Powell also remarked in his speech on Tuesday, "Housing inflation has been a bit of a puzzle. Lags from current rents to CPI is longer than we thought." This means that it will take longer for housing inflation to be reflected in the CPI weights.
However, multiple sources indicate that this figure will drop significantly in the coming months.
With newly contracted rents exhibiting a significant slowing trend, and these newly signed leases being a reliable forward-looking signal of overall rent growth, it is increasingly likely that housing costs will continue their recent slowing trend. Despite last year's immigration surge, vacancy rates in multifamily apartments are approaching historic highs and housing inflation is already signaling a downward trend.
The bottom line is that Steven Englander, Chief FX Strategist at Standard Chartered, conducted regression analysis on both actual and forecasted Owners' Equivalent Rent (OER), indicating a sharp decline in OER in the coming months.
The analysis is based on experimental series of new tenant rents and all tenant rents constructed by Federal Reserve and Bureau of Labor Statistics researchers. From the regression analysis, it is evident that the first-quarter rise in OER was an aberration, and downward pressure may intensify in the coming months.
The formula indicates that the quarter-over-quarter inflation in average OER for the second quarter is only 0.29%, not far from pre-pandemic levels, significantly lower than the first quarter's 0.48%. Given the high proportion of OER in core CPI, this decline will cause a 0.06% quarter-over-quarter decrease in core CPI. If other sub-items are also below expectations, core CPI is expected to decrease from the market's expected 0.3% to 0.2% or even lower.
In other words, OER price inflation is expected to remain soft in the subsequent quarters, which is likely to bolster inflation expectations and decrease to a level sufficient for the Fed to cut rates.
However, a risk to note is that the current high demand for single-family homes in the market may lead to continued rent increases. The supply of existing single-family homes in March was only 3.1 months, while a balanced market typically has a supply of 5 to 6 months, indicating tight supply. Moreover, homeowners who refinanced mortgages at low rates before the pandemic are unlikely to sell their homes in the current high-rate environment, exacerbating housing supply shortages and supporting house prices.
Energy Prices
Currently, crude oil prices are stabilizing, largely benefiting from supply-side improvements such as the significant increase in US crude oil inventories and limited fluctuations in international oil prices. Additionally, geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have not significantly spilled over into energy prices.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the current average gasoline price in the US remains largely steady at $3.619 per gallon, lower than $3.651 a week ago and $3.633 a month ago.
Observing the performance of oil prices, Brent crude oil futures have experienced a dive of approximately $10 from their previous pinnacle exceeding $90 per barrel, while US crude oil futures have breached the $80 per barrel threshold. As concerns over supply have alleviated, oil prices declined once again on May 8th, with Brent crude oil futures hovering around $82 per barrel and US crude oil futures around $77 per barrel.
What's more, per the latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the forecast for global crude oil demand growth in 2024 has been revised down by 30,000 barrels per day to 920,000 barrels per day, while the forecast for global crude oil demand growth in 2025 has been revised up by 70,000 barrels per day to 1.42 million barrels per day. Overall, the growth rate of global crude oil demand this year is expected to be lower than previously anticipated, whereas the production growth rate is expected to be higher.
However, it is important to note that although recent geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have not had a significant impact on crude oil supply, there is still an upside risk to oil prices due to the conflicts occurring near the Strait of Hormuz.
The ceasefire agreement convened in Egypt last week was thwarted by Israel's incursion into Rafah. Nonetheless, crude oil prices did not demonstrate an upward trajectory in response, suggesting that prevailing market valuations had already factored in the anticipation of such occurrences. Moreover, subsequent conflicts have not escalated, with even an Israeli official stating that "negotiations have not reached a deadlock." This implies that there is still a possibility of further ceasefire negotiations, greatly alleviating expectations of price increases caused by geopolitical conflicts.
New Vehicles/Used Cars and Trucks/Motor Insurance
New vehicles/Used cars and trucks in March continued to contribute to the decline in core inflation. This industry appears to have entered a sustained downward trend of price cuts.
Specifically, new vehicles in March decreased by 0.2% MoM and 0.1% YoY. Used cars and trucks fell 1.1% MoM and 2.2% YoY in March.
The bearish market in the US used cars and trucks market, which was unanimously confirmed by the industry in November last year, now seems to be getting worse in April 2024.
According to the data, the well-known Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index has fallen 14% YoY to 198.4 in April, which is the lowest value for the index since Q1 2021. Compared to the peak three years ago, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index has fallen by 23%. With the decline in used car prices, the CPI is expected to be pushed lower.
However, motor insurance is moving in a very different direction than used cars and trucks, with prices rising 2.7% MoM and a staggering 22.2% YoY in March.
The cost of repairing and replacing cars and trucks in the US is increasing. With labor shortages and rising labor costs, the charging of repair shops is higher, and parts are getting more expensive, but demand has always been outstripping supply. As of March, the overall cost of maintaining and repairing US cars was up 8.2% from a year ago. At the beginning of 2023, the growth rate was as high as 14.2%.
However, insurance companies will raise their premiums as the overall price of the car and the cost of car repair increases, so as to protect their own interests. According to relevant data, insurance accounted for an average of 16% of the total cost of a car in 2019, and it is expected to increase to 26% in 2024. In addition, motor insurance premiums are estimated to rise further by 7% this year.
Although motor insurance accounts for a relatively small proportion of the CPI, it may still cause a lot of "trouble" to disinflation if it continues to grow at this rate. On the bright side, while the impact of higher premiums for buying decisions remains unclear, there are signs that it has become an important factor for car buyers. This indicates that price-sensitive customers will forgo their car purchases due to high premiums, which will lead to continued sluggish car sales and lower prices of new vehicles/used cars and trucks.
Conclusions
Judging from the above analysis, this CPI inflation report seems to have the potential for further decline. Both energy prices and housing inflation, which accounted for the main factors of last month's CPI increase, are likely to decline. Specifically, housing inflation has benefited from a decline in rents for newly contracted housing and an empirical analysis by OER. Energy prices still have room to fall due to the improvement on the supply side. Finally, the CPI inflation report is expected to exceed market expectations tomorrow, driven by the downward trend in new and used car prices.
In the current environment, although the mainstream expectation of the market is still dominated by "postponing rate cuts", there are still views of no cut rates this year, or even rate hikes. The divergent views of Fed officials on the progress of inflation are the reason for this phenomenon.
Michelle Bowman and Neel Kashkari are hawkish and believe that there may not be a rate cut this year. Bowman is the first official, after Kashkari, to claim no rates cut this year. However, other officials seem to be optimistic about inflation. Austan Goolsbee and Thomas Barkin believe inflation will come down, while Lorie Logan and Jerome Powell indicate will be delayed this year, but not without them.
The words of Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson have proved this well. "The potential for misunderstanding in the market is especially high when policymakers are speaking at the same time with different opinions," he said. Therefore, this CPI may contribute to the unification of market expectations.
So far, according to the CME FedWatch data, the probability of a rate cut in September is 62.7%.
Since the March CPI inflation report weighed on interest rate cut expectations, market rate cut expectations have been pushed from June to November, but the non-farm payrolls report has boosted it to September. Just a month ago, the market was pricing in a 56.8% probability of a June rate cut, but now there are only 3.5% left for it. Therefore, it can be concluded that a rate cut in June is unlikely. If the CPI shows that inflation continues to rebound, the timing of a rate cut will be further postponed. Conversely, the market may re-advance bets on the Fed's first rate cut to September, or even July.
At present, the market is pricing in one or two rate cuts this year. The data performance may have an impact on the strength of the Fed's internal forces, which in turn will affect the market's risk appetite.