Minneapolis CNN —
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge cooled back down in February after ticking up unexpectedly the month before, a welcome sign in the central bank’s long battle to bring down historic price increases.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 5% for the 12 months ended in February, lower than January’s downwardly revised 5.3% gain, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
On a monthly basis, prices were up 0.3%, a cooling from January’s 0.6% increase.
Economists were expecting a monthly gain of 0.2%, according to Refinitiv.
The latest inflation report is trending in the downward direction that the Fed wants to see, but a little too slowly, said Alex Pelle, US economist at Mizuho Americas.
“[Inflation is] coming down very slowly and from a very high level,” he told CNN in an interview. “You…
2023-03-31 07:34:15
Original from www.cnn.com