The Federal Reserve will announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday, though this announcement is widely expected to keep its interest rate policy unchanged in a range of 1.5%-1.75%.
According to Reuters, “The PCE price index was unchanged on a monthly basis after advancing 0.2 percent in February. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index soared 1.9 percent in the 12 months through March, the biggest increase since February 2017, after increasing 1.6 percent in February. The so-called core PCE price index rose 0.2 month-on-month in March after a similar gain in February.”
Inflation is Rising
Inflation is rising thanks to a tightening labor market and an increase in consumer spending.
U.S. consumer prices accelerated in the year to March, with a measure of underlying inflation surging to near the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
The rise in the annual inflation measures reported by the Commerce Department on Monday were anticipated by economists and Fed officials and is not expected to alter the U.S. central bank’s gradual interest rate hikes.