In March, inflation in the preferred Fed gauge reached 2.7%
The webpage contains a button for expanding content, signaling more information available. It references a 2.7% inflation increase for the year ending in March, using the personal consumption expenditures price index, preferred by the Federal Reserve. The data pertains to a rise in headline inflation and directs to further details on the Washington Examiner’s inflation coverage. The page features an expandable content button, hinting at additional information. It highlights a 2.7% inflation rise for the year ending in March, utilizing the personal consumption expenditures price index favored by the Federal Reserve. The information relates to an increase in headline inflation and offers additional insights on the Washington Examiner’s coverage of inflation.
Inflation ticked up to 2.7% for the year ending in March, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the gauge favored by the Federal Reserve.
The rise in headline inflation reported Friday morning by the Bureau of Economic Analysis is bad news for the Fed, which is working to quash inflation by keeping interest rates elevated. The consensus among economists was that PCE inflation would punch in at 2.6%. The Fed’s target is 2% inflation in the PCE index.
From February to March, inflation rose 0.3%, about in line with forecast expectations.
Core PCE inflation, a measure of inflation that strips out volatile energy and food prices, rose to a 2.8% year-over-year rate.
The news comes a day after the gross domestic product report, which showed that economic expansion fell well short of expectations in the first quarter of the year. The economy expanded at a 1.6% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the first quarter, far short of the 2.5% that was expected.
Friday’s PCE index report follows two other inflation reports for March — the closely watched consumer price index and the producer price index, which measures the prices paid by producers.
The CPI clocked inflation as rising to 3.5% in March, more than expected, and the PPI rose 0.6 percentage points to 2.1%.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The biggest question for many economists heading into 2024 was when the Fed will begin cutting rates, something that investors have been hoping will happen soon.
But the hotter-than-wanted inflation reports have pushed back the expected timing, raising the stakes for the election season. The Fed’s interest rate target is now at 5.25% to 5.50%, a level it has been at since July.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
