American stock indices are declining today, traders are assessing statistical data and corporate reports.

A number of “hawkish” statements by the leaders of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), as well as January inflation data in the United States, published the day before, weakened investors’ hopes that the American Central Bank will soon stop the cycle of raising the base interest rate, Trading Economics notes.

As it became known on Tuesday, consumer prices (CPI index) in the United States in January increased by 6.4% compared to the same month last year. Thus, inflation has slowed compared to 6.5% in December. Experts, however, expected a more significant weakening – up to an average of 6.2%.

The President of the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, noted that the slowdown in inflation in the United States is a positive factor, but he still believes that the Federal Reserve needs to continue raising rates.

“The rate will be higher than 5%. How much higher depends on the circumstances,” he said Tuesday night during a speech at a university event in Philadelphia.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said in an interview with Bloomberg that the Federal Reserve “needs to do more to fight inflation,” and Dallas Fed President Lori Logan noted that the Central Bank “will have to raise rates longer than previously expected.”

U.S. Commerce Department data released Wednesday showed the country’s January retail sales jumped the biggest since March 2021. Retail sales increased by 3% compared to December, while experts on average expected growth of 1.8%.

“The concern is the rather uncomfortable assumption that the Fed may not be doing enough to tighten policy,” Bianco Research founder Jim Bianco said on Bloomberg TV. “At the heart of all the recession forecasts we saw at the very beginning of the year was the idea that “that a sharp increase in the rate by the American Central Bank should weaken the economy. However, what if this does not happen? The market is beginning to realize this.”

US industrial production remained unchanged in January compared to the previous month, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. The consensus forecast of experts included an increase of 0.5%.