Pursuits
U.S. Economy: Inflation Cools Outside of Food, Energy
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Price gains for U.S. goods and services other than food and fuel unexpectedly cooled in March, supporting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s view that the surge in commodity costs will not cause inflation to flare.
The consumer-price index excluding volatile food and energy charges rose 0.1 percent, less than the 0.2 percent increase projected by the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, according to Labor Department data today in Washington. Other reports showed manufacturing kept leading the recovery and consumer confidence climbed more than projected.