Photo taken on April 28, 2022 shows the Commerce Department building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
Despite a moderation in prices, inflation remains persistently high. There is a high probability of a 0.5-percentage point rate hike at the central bank's policy meeting in June and July.
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price indexes, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, surged by 6.3 percent in April over the past year, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.
That compared with a 6.6 percent year-on-year growth in March, according to the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Excluding the volatile food and energy, the core PCE price index increased 4.9 percent in April from a year ago, compared with 5.2 percent in March, a hint of moderation in prices.
PCE price indexes rose 0.2 percent month-on-month in April amid surging inflation, after climbing by 0.9 percent in the previous month, the report showed.
Personal income increased 0.4 percent in April, according to estimates released in the report. Disposable personal income, meanwhile, increased 0.3 percent.
Despite a moderation in prices, inflation remains persistently high. There is a high probability of a 0.5-percentage point rate hike at the central bank's policy meeting in June and July, as signaled by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and the minutes of the Fed's May 3-4 meeting.
"Most participants judged that 50 basis point increases in the target range would likely be appropriate at the next couple of meetings," said the minutes released Wednesday.
"In light of continuing inflation risks, members judged that it would be appropriate for the post-meeting statement to note that the Committee is highly attentive to the upside risks to inflation," it added. ■