Markets are still pricing in another cut in interest rates of 25 basis points when the Fed meets in two weeks. Unless things change or economic data – such as Friday’s monthly jobs report for November – defies expectations, the Fed’s slow but steady shift downward on interest rates is likely to continue.

With investors looking toward Friday’s November nonfarm-payrolls report, market participants see the potential that it could be overshadowed by an entirely different set of data: next Wednesday’s consumer-price index for the same month.

A top Federal Reserve official says he is leaning toward supporting an interest rate cut when the Fed meets in two weeks but that evidence of persistent inflation before then could cause him to change that view.