Market Wire, North America

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure remained stuck at elevated levels in March, but a feared overshoot was avoided, helping alleviate market tensions. Data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis this morning showed the core personal consumption expenditures index rising 0.3 percent in March from the prior month, but January’s number was revised higher to 0.5 percent, bringing the three-month annualised pace up to 4.4 percent, well above the central bank’s target range. On a year over year basis, base effects saw core price growth stabilising at 2.8 percent, the same as in February, slightly higher than consensus estimates....

Consumer price growth remained stubbornly elevated in the United States last month, suggesting that hotter-than-expected prints in January and February were not simply driven by seasonal aberrations, and raising doubts around the Federal Reserve’s plan to deliver three rate cuts over the remainder of the year. According to data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning, the core consumer price index – with highly-volatile food and energy prices excluded – rose 3.8 percent in March from the same period last year, up 0.4 percent on a month-over-month basis. This exceeded consensus estimates among economists polled by the major...