Inflation indicator may delay expected US rate cut
The US central bank's favoured measure of inflation accelerated last month, according to government data published on Friday, pushing back the chances of an interest rate cut this summer. The hotter print is likely to cement the view that inflation, while down sharply since 2022, remains a challenge, and could keep the Federal Reserve on pause as it seeks to battle rising prices. It also complicates US president Joe Biden's re-election message as he seeks to convince sceptical consumers that the economy is heading in the right direction ahead of November's vote. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in March, up 0.2 percentage points from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said in a statement. This was above the median forecast of 2.6 percent in a survey of economists conducted by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Much of the overall annual rise came from the services sector, which increased at an annual rate of 4.0 percent. Among the more volatile items, energy prices rose by 2.6 percent from a year ago, while food prices were up 1.5 percent. "While inflation has fallen more than 60 percent from its peak, today's report reinforces the importance of our ongoing work to bring costs down," White House national economic advisor Lael Brainard said in a statement. On a monthly basis, PCE inflation rose by 0.3 percent, in line with the figure from February, the Commerce Department said. The closely watched "core" measure of inflation, which strips out food and energy costs, rose at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in March, unchanged from a month earlier. The March figures reaffirm the concern among economists that inflation is proving to be more stubborn than previously thought -- complicating the Federal Reserve's fight to bring it down firmly to its long-term target of two percent through interest rate hikes. (AFP)