This past week saw several important data points made public. Wednesday saw the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The Price Producer Index (PPI) for May came out on Thursday. The University of Michigan also released its consumer sentiment and inflation expectation reports on Friday.

The CPI report shows that inflation is again picking up steam, largely due to the war in Iran. Core CPI was up 0.2 percent in May while overall CPI was up 0.5 percent. This translates to an annual rate of 2.9 percent Core CPI and 4.2 percent overall. Each figure was in line with analyst expectations prior to the news being made public.

Although inflation has gone up in recent months, there is still some cause for optimism. Core CPI was expected to be 0.3 percent for May, which means that the 0.2 percent figure is slightly softer than the market was bracing for. Furthermore, there are signs that the war with Iran will be coming to an end shortly, which could cause prices to ease.

However, even if the war were to end today, it could take months for supply chain issues to resolve themselves. Namely, the Strait of Hormuz would need to remain open for an extended period to resolve the oil supply bottleneck currently taking place.

Overall, it’s unlikely that the report will change the Fed’s monetary policy direction. It’s expected that the Fed will vote to keep interest rates unchanged as opposed to opting for a rate hike at the June 17 meeting. The main interest rate is currently in a range between 3.75 percent and 4 percent.

Core PPI came in a 0.4 percent on Thursday, which was slightly below the 0.5 percent analysts expected prior to the report’s release. Overall, PPI was up 1.1 percent compared to an expected increase of 0.7 percent. Energy prices were cited as the main driver of the overall price increase in May.

Also on Thursday, the unemployment claims data for the last seven days came out. There were 229,000 requests for benefits, which was up slightly from 225,000 the week prior.

On Friday, preliminary consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan showed that consumers were relatively upbeat compared to expectations. The report came in at 48.9 compared to an expected 46.1. However, last month’s data was downgraded to 44.8. Respondents expected inflation to be at 4.6 percent in 12 months.

The S&P 500 was down slightly this week finishing roughly 10 points lower to close Friday’s trading at 7,431. This was a loss of 0.14 percent over the past five trading days. For the week, the market made a high of 7,464 on Monday and a low of 7,257 on Tuesday.

The Dow was also relatively flat for the week, but managed to finish in the green. It closed up 195 points to close Friday’s trading day at 51,202. That was an increase of 0.38 percent over the past five days. The market made a low of 50,0003 on Wednesday and a high of 51,332 on Friday.

Finally, the Nasdaq was down 0.6 percent this week to finish at 25,888 at the close of business on Friday. This was a loss of 157 points for the tech-heavy market. For the week, the index made a high of 26,123 on Monday and a low of 25,131 on Thursday.

In international news, Canada announced on Wednesday that it was keeping its overnight rate at 2.25 percent. On Thursday, the Eurozone decided to increase its main financing rate from 2.15 percent to 2.4 percent. On Friday morning, Great Britain announced that its gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1 percent in May.

Next week will surely be another consequential one as the Fed has its rate policy meeting on Wednesday. Japan and Australia will announce their June rate decisions on Monday and Tuesday morning. Retail sales data will also be released on Wednesday while any news regarding the Iran war will likely cause market volatility.

The first full week of June means that the jobs report for May was released to much fanfare. Friday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that the economy added 172,000 jobs during that time. In addition, April’s report was revised upward to 179,000 jobs.

The May figure was well above analyst expectations as it was believed the economy added 85,000 jobs prior to the release. This will at least temporarily shut down the narrative that the economy has hit a rough patch. Combined with the latest surge in the equity markets, it’s safe to say that there is reason for optimism.

Of course, that wasn’t the only major news announcement to come out this week. Monday saw the release of the ISM Manufacturing PMI, which came in at 54.0. This was higher than the expected 53.3 and implies that the sector is undergoing a period of expansion.

On Tuesday, the JOLTS report was released and found that there were 7.62 million open positions in the country. Analysts had expected there to be 6.87 million jobs available before the release. An increase in open positions may imply that companies are hiring again and looking for talent. However, it could also imply that companies are content to leave open positions unfilled for the time being.

Wednesday saw the release of the other jobs report in the form of the ADP Nonfarm Payroll number. It found that there were 112,000 jobs added to the economy in May. This was only slightly higher than the 108,000 projected prior to the release, and April’s figure was left unchanged at 105,000.

Despite the positive employment news, the S&P 500 was down for the week. On Friday, it closed at 7,384, which was a drop of 188 points since the open on Monday. This was a loss of 2.48 percent over the last five trading days. For the week, the market made a high of 7,612 on Monday and closed near the low of the week on Friday.

Although the market lost ground on Friday, Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to eke out a win for the week. It would finish at 50,866, which was a gain of 12.81 points over the last five days. This was a gain of .03 percent since Monday. For the week, the index made a high of 51,614 on Thursday afternoon.

The Nasdaq was the biggest loser of the week tumbling 4.4 percent to finish the week at 28,957. This was a loss of 1,333 for the index that underperformed the other two major indexes because of its exposure to AI stocks. There is still some concern about where the market is heading, and some believe that AI is creating a bubble. There are also concerns that all the major indexes are overvalued right now and due for a correction. Despite its losses, the Nasdaq is still up 5 percent for the month and over 30 percent over the last 12 months.

In international news, Canada also released its jobs report for the month on Friday. The nation revealed that their economy added 86,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate now sits at 6.6 percent. For comparison, the American unemployment rate is 4.3 percent as of June 5. Australia announced that its gross domestic product (GDP) for the most recent quarter was 0.3 percent compared to an expected 0.5 percent. On Thursday evening, Switzerland revealed that inflation grew by 0.2 percent in May.

The upcoming week is sure to be another interesting one as inflation data will be revealed on Wednesday. Core inflation is expected to tick up to 2.9 percent from 2.8 percent while overall inflation is expected to increase to 4.2 percent on an annualized basis compared to 3.8 percent in April. In addition, the Price Producer Index for May will be released on Thursday, and prices are expected to have increased by 0.7 percent during that time.