Odaily News Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard, wrote that the inflation data does not provide the Fed with a signal to cut interest rates. Although the CPI fell from 3% to 2.8% in February, "the anomalies in the data are enough to cast doubt on any attempt to interpret it as a trend." Blitz said commodity prices excluding food and energy rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.7% in February, an improvement from 3.5% in January, but still volatile. He said this is the category where "the impact of tariffs has been most apparent in the first round." Ultimately, as employment continues to rise, so will inflation.