US Inflation Surges Again in April, PCE Index Indicates

Inflation in the United States, which had been slowing for several months, started to rise again in April, both over one year and over one month, according to the PCE index published on Friday by the Commerce Department and which is favored by the Reserve. Federal (Fed).

Compared to April 2022, consumer price inflation stood at 4.4%, compared to 4.2% the previous month. Over one month, inflation reached 0.4%, also accelerating compared to March, when it was 0.1%.

This is more than expected by analysts, who expected 0.3% over one month, according to MarketWatch consensus.

In detail, the prices of services increased more than those of goods. And, while the rise in food prices remained almost stable, those of energy, on the other hand, started to rise again sharply.

So-called underlying inflation, excluding food and energy prices and which is the data particularly observed at the Fed, is also accelerating, to 0.4% over one month and 4.7% over one year. .

The PCE index is the one favored by the Fed for measuring inflation, which it wishes to reduce to 2% per year.

Another measure exists, the CPI index, which is used in particular to calculate pensions. In April, it slowed down over one year, to 4.9%, but accelerated over one month, to 0.4%.

The Commerce Department also indicated that US household income rose 0.4%, compared to 0.3% in March. As for expenditure, it rebounded strongly: +0.8% against +0.1% the previous month.

To slow inflation, the US central bank (Fed) has been raising its key rates since March 2022. These have been raised by a total of 5 points and are now within a range of 5.00 to 5.25% .

This leads the banks to raise the cost of the loans they offer to households and businesses, in order to ease the pressure on prices.

The Fed’s next meeting is June 13-14, and Fed officials are divided on whether to raise rates for the 11th straight time, or pause to watch the effects of the hikes. precedents and avoid slowing down economic activity too much, in order to avoid recession.

This article has been published automatically. Source: ats/awp