WASHINGTON (AFP) - Further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts appeared more likely Wednesday after government reports showed a modest rise in inflation and that the housing market remained mired in a deep slump.
Many economists expect the US central bank to continue its aggressive rate-cutting campaign at a looming two-day meeting on April 29-30, especially as a growing number of analysts believe the world’s largest economy has fallen into a recession.
“For the Federal Reserve this inflation news brings some relief. If inflation expectations are kept under control by such evidence, then the Fed has a freer hand to cut rates,” said Stephen Gallagher, an economist at Societe Generale.
Gallagher raised the prospect of…
