Economics
Fed's Preferred Core-Price Gauge Picks Up as Spending Gains
- Inflation remains below central bank’s 2% overall target
- April data precede Trump’s ratcheting-up of trade tensions
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A crucial measure of U.S. inflation watched by the Federal Reserve picked up in April for the first time this year while Americans’ spending and incomes topped forecasts, offering some evidence that economic growth is both holding up and helping boost prices.
The Fed’s preferred core price gauge -- tied to spending and excluding food and energy -- rose 0.2% from the prior month and 1.6% from a year earlier following a downwardly revised 1.5% in March, according to a Commerce Department report Friday. That matched the median estimates in a Bloomberg survey.