[expat_panama]

...no need to hike before the election based on actual evidence...

If the idea that rate hikes are for controlling inflation, then what we do is we look at inflation--

 

--and when we see that the cpi is falling (deflation) and the PCE is about one %, we say we don't need rate hikes.  For now.  fwiw, July's  PCE comes out in a couple weeks...

[Wyatt's Torch]

That’s certainly a huge part of their formula (PCE is the FOMC’s preferred index) but also wage growth is the other key factor.