Strategist: The US CPI data may not change the stance of the Federal Reserve, but it may affect their comments.

Russell Investments' senior investment strategist BeiChen Lin stated in a report that the US CPI report for March, which was released on Friday, is unlikely to change the Federal Reserve's idea of maintaining interest rates at its upcoming meeting. "However, unexpected direction and magnitude compared to average inflation expectations may determine whether the Fed's commentary leans towards tight or loose," the strategist said. Russell Investments still believes that the likelihood of the Fed raising rates in 2026 is "very small". Analysts' average expectations are that overall inflation in March will accelerate from 2.4% in February to 3.3%, while core inflation is expected to reach 2.7% after recording 2.5%.