US core PCE inflation set to hold steady, raising doubts on further Federal Reserve rate cut

• The core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index is expected to rise 0.3% MoM and 2.8% YoY in October.
• Markets are undecided on whether the Fed will lower the policy rate by 25 basis points at the next policy meeting.
• Annual PCE inflation is forecast to edge higher to 2.3% from 2.1% in October.

The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is set to release the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data for October on Wednesday at 13:30 GMT. This index is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.

Although PCE inflation data is usually seen as a big market-mover, this time it might be difficult to assess its impact on the US Dollar’s (USD) valuation. With the US entering the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, other macroeconomic data –such as the weekly Initial Jobless Claims, October Durable Goods Orders and the second estimate of the third-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP)– will be released alongside the PCE inflation figures.

Anticipating the PCE: Insights into the Federal Reserve's key inflation metric

The core PCE Price Index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is projected to rise 0.3% on a monthly basis in October, matching September’s increase. Over the last twelve months, the core PCE inflation is expected to edge higher to 2.8% from 2.7%. Meanwhile, the headline annual PCE inflation is seen rising to 2.3% from 2.1% in the same period. 

At the November policy meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to lower the policy rate by 25 basis points (bps) to the range of 4.5%-4.75%. In the policy statement, the US central bank made a small adjustment to say inflation "made progress" towards the Fed’s target, compared to “made further progress” in the previous statement. Additionally, the Fed noted that the core PCE inflation has shown little change over the past three months. 

Previewing the PCE inflation report, TD Securities said: “Headline PCE prices likely rose at a firm 0.27% m/m pace, with core rising 0.31% m/m and supercore inflation accelerating to 0.39% m/m.”. “Separately, we look for consumer spending to start Q4 with a soft tone, rising 0.3% m/m in nominal terms in October and close to flat in real terms,” added TD Securities in a recently published report.

The CME Group FedWatch Tool shows that markets are currently pricing in a nearly 41% probability of the Fed holding the policy rate unchanged at the last policy meeting of the year, suggesting that the US Dollar is facing a two-way risk heading into the event. 

How will the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index affect EUR/USD?

Market participants could scale back bets on a December rate cut in case the monthly core PCE Price Index rises at a stronger pace than expected. In this scenario, the USD could gather strength and make it difficult for EUR/USD to hold its ground. Conversely, a monthly core PCE Price Index increase of 0.2% or lower could revive optimism about further progress in disinflation and weigh on the USD with the immediate reaction, opening the door for a rebound in the pair in the near term. 

Eren Sengezer, European Session Lead Analyst at FXStreet, shares a brief technical outlook for EUR/USD:

“The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator on the daily chart remains well below 50, while holding above 30, suggesting that EUR/USD has more room on the downside before turning technically oversold.”

“On the downside, 1.0400 (static level) aligns as first support. In case EUR/USD makes a daily close below this level and starts using it as resistance, 1.0330 (November 22 low) could act as interim support before 1.0230 (static level from November 2022). Looking north, the first resistance could be spotted at 1.0600 (static level) ahead of 1.0660 (20-day Simple Moving Average). If EUR/USD clears that latter hurdle, it could target 1.0800 (static level) next.”