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Friday, April 10, 2020

BLS: CPI decreased 0.4% in March, Core CPI decreased 0.1%

by Calculated Risk on 4/10/2020 08:36:00 AM

From the BLS:

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.4 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest monthly decline since January 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.5 percent before seasonal adjustment.

A sharp decline in the gasoline index was a major cause of the monthly decrease in the seasonally adjusted all items index, with decreases in the indexes for airline fares, lodging away from home, and apparel also contributing. The energy index fell 5.8 percent as the gasoline index decreased 10.5 percent.
...
The index for all items less food and energy fell 0.1 percent in March, its first monthly decline since January 2010.

The all items index increased 1.5 percent for the 12 months ending March, a notably smaller increase than the 2.3-percent increase for the period ending February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.1 percent over the last 12 months.
emphasis added
Overall inflation was below expectations in March. I'll post a graph later today after the Cleveland Fed releases the median and trimmed-mean CPI.