The core CPI, which economists view as the better indicator of underlying inflation, was up 5.6% from a year ago. It’s the first time in over two years that the core came in above the overall measure, which was up 5%. Investors initially reacted positively to the report before a rally in stocks and Treasuries cooled. See when you read the whole report it was a disaster. The headline number picked up the drop in energy prices now reversing…. Inflation, however, remains too high.
The core CPI, which economists view as the better indicator of underlying inflation, was up 5.6% from a year ago. It’s the first time in over two years that the core came in above the overall measure, which was up 5%.
That’s a sharp slowdown from the previous month because the figure is now compared with March 2022, when energy prices spiked immediately after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NN: the report is a disaster. Inflation is not Not NOT moderating… Look at the year over year… the FED Does and they will for sure without a doubt continue to raise rates…..
Fed’s Barkin Says There’s More Work to Do to Rein in Inflation
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said policymakers still have more work to do to tame prices after fresh data Wednesday showed inflation remained well above the Fed’s 2% target. “I certainly think we are past peak on inflation, but we still have a ways to go,” Barkin said in a CNBC interview from Roanoke, Virginia, where the bank was hosting a conference. Barkin said he sees signs that demand is cooling, but said he was wary of declaring victory on inflation too soon, and noted that prices excluding food and energy were still too high. “There’s still more to do I think to get core inflation back down to where we’d like it to be,” he said, but he stopped short of saying whether he would support a rate hike at the Fed’s May 2-3 policy meeting. The Fed official made his comments after the March consumer-price report showed inflation was moderating. US consumer prices rose 0.1% in March, just below economists’ forecast of 0.2% and was up 5% from a year earlier. The closely watched core CPI number — which excludes food and energy — increased 0.4%, Up 5.7% year over year. Most Federal Open Market Committee officials have emphasized that even amid the uncertainties created by the banking-sector stress, the Fed has more work to do to bring inflation down to its 2% target. Markets are pricing in the likelihood of an additional hike on May 3.