ME News message, December 17 (UTC+8), December 17, for most of the past three years, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report has been one of the most closely watched data points by U.S. stock traders. Nowadays, investors are no longer on edge but are waiting with indifference for the inflation data for November to be released on Thursday. Options traders are betting that the S&P 500 index's intraday fluctuation will be within 0.7%. This is far below the average actual volatility of 1% triggered by the 12 CPI reports leading up to September this year. The shift in market sentiment is not without reason. The Federal Reserve is more focused on signs of weakness in the labor market rather than slight fluctuations in the inflation rate. Data released on Tuesday showed that the job market remains sluggish, leaving room for rate cuts next year. "The market has taken it for granted that this data is either irrelevant or questionable in quality from a data collection perspective and will not be overly scrutinized," said Alexander Altmann, head of global equity tactical strategy at Barclays. The report is also unlikely to change the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting in January next year; another reason for the declining importance of CPI is that Fed Chairman Powell's term will end in May next year. His successor is expected to strongly support significant rate cuts in line with President Trump’s unconventional demands for substantial rate cuts—regardless of the data. (Source: ME)