On tap for Friday: December CPI.....>

US DATA PREVIEW: On tap for Friday: December CPI (0.0%, -0.2%), CPI Ex Food and

Energy (0.2%, 0.2%).

- Morgan Stanley economists "expect core CPI to post a solid 0.24%

month-over-month gain in December, which would mark the strongest print since

July." MS cites an "acceleration in both core goods (+0.19% in December after

+0.16% in November) and core services (+0.25% after +0.21%)," while "declining

oil prices continue to hold down energy prices in CPI, which we expect to post a

large 4.0% drop."

- RBS economists also posit "weaker energy costs" are likely to restrain "CPI

for a second straight month." RBS expects "headline measure to have posted a

decline of 0.1%, led by another hefty decline of 3.0% in energy prices. On a

year/year basis, this likely pulled the headline CPI inflation down from 2.2% in

November to 1.7% in December (versus 2.1% seen at the end of both 2016 and

2017). Meanwhile, the core CPI may have risen by 0.2% in the month, slowing the

year/year pace from 2.2% in November to 2.1% in December."