The New York Times reports this morning that “the Consumer Price Index climbed 3.2 percent last month from a year earlier, up from 3.1 percent in January. That’s down notably from a 9.1 percent high in 2022, but it is still quicker than the roughly 2 percent that was normal before the 2020 pandemic.
“After stripping out volatile food and fuel costs for a better sense of the underlying trend, inflation came in at 3.8 percent, slightly faster than economists had expected but down from 3.9 percent in January. And on a monthly basis, core inflation climbed slightly more quickly than economists had forecast as airline fares and car insurance increased, even as a closely watched housing measure climbed less rapidly.
“Taken as a whole, the report was the latest sign that bringing inflation fully down is likely to take time and patience.
“To date, inflation has come down steadily and relatively painlessly: Unemployment continues to hover below 4 percent and growth in 2023 was unexpectedly strong, even though the Fed has raised interest rates to a more than two-decade high.”
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