Summary Consumer price inflation did not show many signs of cooling in the February CPI. There were only a few positive developments in the data. Prices at the grocery store rose just 0.3%, the smallest increase since March 2021. Used auto prices continued to come back down to Earth and fell another 2.8% in the month. But beyond these pockets of improvement, core CPI inflation remained entrenched at uncomfortably high levels. With core CPI up 0.5% in February, it is rising at an annualized rate of more than 5% whether measured on a 1-month, 3-month or 12-month basis. Other than used autos, core goods prices were once again reasonably firm, rising 0.5%. On the services side, rent growth remained quite high, and inflation in discretionary categories such as airfares, lodging-away-from-home and recreation was also robust. READ FULL ARTICLE>>
