Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report fo▨r March showed 🐈that inflation continues to be surprisingly sticky as the U.S. economy remains strong even in the face of ꦰhigh interest rates.

The latest report marked the third straight month that inflation came in hotter than expected. The consumer price readings have 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:dampened hopes that the Federal Reserve, which has kept rates at a 23-year high to reduce inflationary pressure, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:will cut rates any time soon.

So what does that mean for you?

Mortgages 🌳and Other Credit Will Remain Expensive

If you're waiting for rates to fall before buying a home or refinancing a mortgage, you may be waiting longer.

The fed funds rate, the interest rate that the Fed charges banks to borrow money, is s💖et at 5.25% to 5.5%. The rate has long-term effects on other credit offerings like mortgage rates and credit cards.

Perhaps nowhere have elevated interest rates had more of an impact than with 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:mortgage rates, which hit two-decade-high levels in 2023 after the Federal🐬 Reserve began its campaign to raise interest rates.

Hopes that the Fed could begin cutting rates helped ease mortgage rates going into this year, pushing them just under 7%, but today's report stoked fears they could bounce back

"March inflation figures were very bad, which also means bad news for interest rates,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, wrote in a commentary. “Mortgage rates, unfortunately, will move a notch higher and are likely to cross above 7% in the upcoming weeks.”

High mortgage rates have made monthly payments unaffordable for many first-time buyers and have discouraged many homeowners from selling since most have lower rates they locked 🐭in years ago.

Bottom line: It will likely take longer for the Fed to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:move forward with rate cuts, and only after will mortgage rates follow.

Higher Prices On Goods and Services

The higher-than-expected inflation rate means that the costs of goods and services aren’t just rising, they are rising at a rate faster than economists expect. Slower inflation 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:wouldn't mean prices move lower, just that pri🍒ces would i🙈ncrease at a slower rate.  

Wednesday’s CPI data not only showed that overall prices continue to rise, but that prices were moving higher in several important consumer cat♎egories. 

“Service provꦜiders who tend to change prices less frequently, like insurers and healthcare providers, have made big price increases in recent months to pass on higher operating costs. That is contrib✨uting to the stickiness of inflation in the first half of 2024,” said Bill Adams, Comerica Bank chief economist, in a prepared statement.

Bottom line: Prices for things like food, groceries and𓄧 housing are still elevated and are moving up more rapidly than expected.

Impacts on Investment Accounts and Retirement

Investors have been anticipating interest rate cuts for several months, with hopes for a rate cut at the Fed's June policy meeting. However, today's report sent stocks lower as those hopes were dashed.

Higher interest rates mean steeper borrowing costs for businesses, potentially weighing on future earnings and undercutting financial performance, putting more 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:downward pressure on share prices. 

Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Individuဣal Retirement Accounts (IRA) are investment portfolios that usually contain stocks, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: index funds, as well as other investments that can lose🔯 value if the market declines𒁏.

Bottom line: Inflated prices and high interest rates continue to weigh on markets, potentially taking a bite out of your retirement accounܫts. 

Good News for Savers

Higher interest rates may be bad for borrowers, but they're an opportunity for savers.

The same interest rates that make car and house loans more expensive also make 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:high-interest savings plans, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:certificates of deposits (CDs),  澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:money-market accounts and other interest-🃏paying accounꦛts more valuable.

While they are a bit lower than when they hit their peaks in 2023, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:CDs are still paying close to historically high interest for savers who can set aside money over a period. For example, a 6-month CD 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:paid interest of 5.55% in April, not quite as high as theꦬ peak of about 6% last fall, but it's still well above the 0.8% interest rate that CDs paid in January 2022.

Bottom line: You will be able to find these k♈inds of favor𓃲able rates on savings as long as inflation keeps rates high.

Diccon Hyatt contributed to this article.