by Calculated Risk on 5/10/2018 11:09:00 AM
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Key Measures Show Inflation increased YoY in April
The Cleveland Fed released the median CPI and the trimmed-mean CPI this morning:
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% (2.9% annualized rate) in April. The 16% trimmed-mean Consumer Price Index also rose 0.2% (1.9% annualized rate) during the month. The median CPI and 16% trimmed-mean CPI are measures of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data released in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) monthly CPI report.Note: The Cleveland Fed released the median CPI details for April here. Motor fuel was up 43% annualized in April.
Earlier today, the BLS reported that the seasonally adjusted CPI for all urban consumers rose 0.2% (2.7% annualized rate) in April. The CPI less food and energy rose 0.1% (1.2% annualized rate) on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Click on graph for larger image.
This graph shows the year-over-year change for these four key measures of inflation. On a year-over-year basis, the median CPI rose 2.6%, the trimmed-mean CPI rose 2.0%, and the CPI less food and energy rose 2.1%. Core PCE is for February and increased 1.9% year-over-year.
On a monthly basis, median CPI was at 2.9% annualized, trimmed-mean CPI was at 1.9% annualized, and core CPI was at 1.2% annualized.
Using these measures, inflation increased year-over-year in April. Overall, these measures are close to the Fed's 2% target.