Key White House Presser Underway Shortly

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is shortly due to be joined at the White House podium by National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard.

• Livestream: LINK
• Comes in the wake of slightly hot inflation print, Anna Wong at Bloomberg writes: “The surprisingly strong CPI print shows the road to a durable return to 2% inflation is bumpy, and the last mile could be difficult. Some of the disinflationary impulse for core goods – a key driver of easing price pressures over the past few months — has faded. It likely will take more than the much-anticipated disinflation in rents for inflation to get to the Fed’s 2% target."
• Kirby will brief reporters on the status of US policy in the Middle East. There are growing concerns that the US may be forced to authorise military action in Yemen if the Houthi rebels fail to curbs attacks on commercial shipping. US officials have repeatedly threated "consequences" but declined to expand on the precise nature of a response.