rose to 3.5% for the year ending in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday in an update to the consumer price index., which has been aiming to move toward cutting interest rates in the coming months. It’s also bad news for President Joe Biden. The The Fed has worked to drive down inflation for two years now by raising interest rates. Wednesday’s report casts uncertainty over the timing of the Fed beginning to trim rates.“There is no improvement here.
Annual inflation peaked at about 9% in June 2022, and while it is now much lower than it was, price growth is still running higher than the Fed’s preferred 2% level. The higher interest rates are causing some pain for consumers who have already been buffeted by too-high inflation.