March inflation report: another month of 'hot' price gains expected
foxbusiness.comFormer Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig reacts to Jerome Powell saying the Fed is not ready to start cutting rates on 'Cavuto: Coast to Coast.'
A closely watched inflation report due Wednesday is expected to show that progress in fighting price pressures within the economy slowed again in March.
Economists expect the consumer price index, which measures a range of goods that includes gasoline, health care, groceries and rent, to show that prices rose 3.4% in March – up from the 3.2% reading recorded the previous month.
On a monthly basis, inflation is seen rising 0.3%, which is down slightly from the 0.4% figure recorded in February.
«The March CPI and PPI reports will likely show another month of hot inflation,» Comerica Bank economists said on Monday. "Gasoline prices rose again in March as OPEC+ producers extended supply cuts, the Middle East conflict threatened to broaden, Ukraine attacked Russian refineries, and U.S. crude production leveled off near a record high."
WHY ARE GROCERIES STILL SO EXPENSIVE?
Other parts of the report are also expected to point to a slower retreat in inflation. Core prices, which exclude the more volatile measurements of food and energy, are projected to climb 3.7% annually. That figure is down slightly from the 3.8% headline gain in February, suggesting that underlying price pressures remain strong.
The Federal Reserve's target rate is 2%.
«We don’t have the tailwind of falling oil and gasoline prices that we had late in 2023 when we saw notable and sustained easing of inflation pressures,» said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. «So far in 2024, the progress has slowed, and especially with oil prices rising to a 5-month high, expectations of
Read more on foxbusiness.com
