US Economy Shows Signs of Cooling With 0.1% CPI Increase in March

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March 2023 rose 5% annually and 0.1% month-on-month, improving market sentiment that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will pause rate hikes at its upcoming FOMC meeting in May 2023.

The month-on-month CPI increase beat the 0.3% predicted by FactSet analysts earlier this month. At 0.1%, it is down significantly from its 0.4% increase in Feb. 2023.

Like February, March’s main driver of the increase was shelter.

So-called core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.4%, down from five-tenths of a percent in Feb. 2023.

Real average hourly earnings rose 0.2% from Feb. to March 2023, while weekly earnings fell 0.1%.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index measures incremental inflation in prices consumers pay for goods and services. The Federal Reserve uses this number and other economic data like the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index and employment data to modulate its approach to monetary policy.

This is a developing story.

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