Report shows little to no recent drop in inflation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday reported that consumer prices increased on all items by 3.2 percent over the year ending in February. That number was just slightly higher than January’s year-over-year number of 3.1 percent.

So it went up slightly? When volatile food and energy items are excluded, inflation rises to 3.8 percent during the year ending in February. But January’s number topped that at 3.9 percent.

What does the “consumer prices” part of this mean? The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the Consumer Price Index “measures the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services,” or the prices consumers pay out-of-pocket for everyday items.

What does an increase in consumer prices mean? In January, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noted that the Fed would not reduce its interest rates until it saw “continuing evidence… that inflation is moving down sustainably” toward its goal of 2 percent. At its latest committee meeting on interest rates, the Fed opted to hold them in place.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher’s discussion with David Bahnsen on The World and Everything in It podcast about whether the United States’ inflation cycle is ending.