Market Updates
Consumer Price Inflation Accelerated in March, Core Inflation Stays Elevated
Brian Turner
10 Apr, 2024
New York City
Consumer price inflation in March accelerated to an annual pace of 3.5% and advanced 0.4% for the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
Annual inflation accelerated for the second month in a row to 3.5% in March, up from 3.2% in February and 3.1% in January.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, held steady at 0.4% from the previous month and rose 3.8% from a year ago in March.
The persistent inflation was driven by a sharp jump in transportation prices of 10.7%, and steady but elevated housing inflation of 5.7%.
The index for shelter and gasoline contributed to over half of the monthly index for all items index.
Food inflation held steady at 2.2% in March, while energy inflation rebounded to 2.1% from a decline of 1.9% in February.
The new vehicle price declined by 0.1% after rising by 0.4% in February, and the used vehicle price decline accelerated to 2.2% from the 1.1% fall in February.
Investors have bid up stocks over the last two months, in the hopes that inflation is likely to continue to ease in the months ahead.
But consumer prices rebounded for the third month in a row after dropping to 3.1% in January 2024.
Consumer price inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 and fell steadily to 3.1% in June 2023, and since then has bounced between 3.1% and 3.7%, significantly higher than the Fed's target rate of 2%.
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