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Inflation massively tumbled, according to March data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), soared by a 5.0% year-over-year increase in March, less than the year-over-year increase of 6.0% in February. That unadjusted change is below the 5.2% increase forecasted, and was the lowest rate since May 2021, according to BLS.
Seasonally adjusted data shows CPI climbed by 0.1% month-over-month in March. That growth is just under the forecast of 0.2%.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased by 5.6% year-over-year per data that wasn't seasonally adjusted. That's the same as the 5.6% forecast. It increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% month-over-month in March, matching the forecast of 0.4%.
The index for energy saw a big year-over-year drop, declining by 6.4%, per not seasonally adjusted data. Seasonally adjusted data shows this index declined by 3.5% from February to March. That's a large month-over-month decline relative to the decline of 0.6% from January to February.
The change in the food index was flat in March, based on seasonally adjusted figures. That comes after many months of month-over-month increases. The food index leaped by 8.5% from March 2022 to March 2023, per unadjusted data.
Like the food index, the shelter index also soared above 8%. It rose by 8.2% over the last 12 months ending in March. The shelter index also climbed by 0.6% over the month.
"The shelter index was the dominant factor in the monthly increase in the index for all items less food and energy," the news release from BLS on Wednesday stated.
March isn't the first month of cooling inflation. The US has been seeing the year-over-year change in CPI slow down in recent months.
"To feel good about where inflation is headed, we need to see more than just moderation in the rate of both headline and core inflation," Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com, said before Wednesday's data release. "We also need to see moderation in price pressures across a wide range of categories that are staples of the household budget: shelter, food, electricity, motor vehicle insurance, apparel, and household furnishings and operations."
The Fed has continued to fight inflation with interest rate hikes. The Federal Reserve announced last month an interest rate hike by 25 basis points.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
