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- Inflation is still cooling so far in 2023.
- That's according to the year-over-year increase of the Consumer Price Index for March.
- The Consumer Price Index increased 5.0%, the lowest rate since May 2021.
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%.
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.