National + Finance | March 31, 2023

Consumer Prices Rise More Slowly in February, Suggesting Slowdown Trend for Inflation

An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve slowed in February, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The personal consumption expenditures index rose 0.3% from January to February, down from a 0.6% increase from December to January, according to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

CNBC reported that Dow Jones had projected a 0.4% increase for February. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose 5%, slower than the 5.3% annual increase in January.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation rose 0.3% from January and 4.6% from a year earlier. Both represented slowdowns from the previous month.

“The inflation trend looks promising for investors,” Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, told CNBC. “Inflation will likely be below 4% by the end of the year, giving the Federal Reserve some leeway to cut rates by the end of the year if the economy falls into recession.”

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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