[Citigroup profit-taking on bets on the Federal Reserve's December interest rate hike, believing that the 50 basis point threshold for a rate hike is still high] November 11th: Given that the market has fully digested the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by 25 basis points next month after the release of U.S. CPI data in October, Citi strategists have taken profits on previously proposed transactions for a December interest rate hike. They believe that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to implement a 50 basis point interest rate hike. Citigroup also closed a short position betting on two-year core inflation. The team led by Jason Williams wrote that while Fed Governor Waller's comments and Tuesday's inflation data "open up the probability distribution," "we still think the threshold for a 50 basis point hike is high." On inflation, Citi noted: "This is the second consecutive month of stronger-than-expected inflation data, prompting us to seriously reexamine our view that core inflation will steadily decline."