Inflation numbers from the United States on Tuesday could be the provide the final domino in the Federal Reserve’s track to raise interest rates next month.
Earlier in November a robust report on U.S. employment hardened expectations for the Fed’s first rate increase in nearly a decade and if prices are shown to be rising steadily those views will likely solidify.
Reuters polls see inflation a 1.9 percent year-on-year, unchanged from the previous reading.
Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting will also be published, giving an insight into the Committee’s decision to remove a key sentence on global risks from its policy statement.
“We have had a strong October jobs report and Fed Chair Janet Yellen herself referring to a December rate rise as a ‘live possibility’ for the first time,” said Chris Hare, economist at Investec.
“The coming week should shed a little more light on the prospects for tightening this year.”
While most U.S. data has been relatively upbeat, retail sales rose less than expected in October, suggesting a slowdown in consumer spending that could temper expectations of a strong pickup in fourth-quarter economic growth.
