The bond market exhibited a surprising level of calm this week despite a wealth of economic data. Of particular significance were Thursday's releases, including key indicators such as Personal Income, Personal Spending, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE) – the latter being the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation. The focus on inflation was underscored by Core PCE, which aligned closely with expectations, registering a Year-over-Year decline to 2.8% from the previous month's 2.9%. Over a six-month period, the PCE inflation rate is even lower. Notably, this morning's manufacturing data revealed a performance weaker than anticipated.

Despite signs of a resilient economy, there are indications of potential slowing as the Federal Reserve continues to make strides in aligning inflation with its target rate.