President to Allow Incoming Fed Chair Autonomy on Interest Rates

The comments came during a Tuesday morning phone call with the Washington Examiner.

Investors are now assigning roughly 55 percent odds to a rate increase by the end of the year, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The probability of a rate cut before December stands at 0.5 percent. Annual consumer inflation rose 0.5 percentage points to 3.8 percent for the year ending in April, the highest reading since May 2023.

Wholesale prices increased 1.4 percent in April alone, pushing the producer price index to 6 percent, the largest annual gain since 2022.

The incoming chairman was confirmed by the Senate this month in a 54-45 vote. He is scheduled to be sworn in on Friday and will attend his first policy meeting in mid-June. The transition occurs as energy prices have risen amid ongoing conflict, contributing to higher headline inflation readings.