Inflation & Prices
US Inflation Slowdown in Sight as Key Drivers Show Cooling
- Cooling housing, services prices key development for outlook
- Figures bolster case for Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes
A customer shops in a grocery store in Houston, Texas.
Photographer: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Key drivers of underlying US price pressures began receding in April, suggesting the final puzzle pieces for a return to more-normal inflation rates are falling into place.
Rent increases were smaller than over the last year on average, and services prices excluding housing and energy — a category the Federal Reserve is watching closely — posted the smallest advance since last summer, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Wednesday.