An inflation measure closely tracked by the Federal Reserve hit a 40-year-high.
The Commerce Department’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased by 6.6 percent in the 12 months from March last year, the highest annual gain since January 1982, outpacing February’s year over year gain of 6.3 percent.
The PCE price index shot up 0.9 percent in March, the largest increase since September 2005, after climbing 0.5 percent in February.
The index, when not factoring in food and energy, rose 5.2 percent, a slightly smaller increase than 5.3 percent a month ago.
Inflation is expected to remain uncomfortably high for the unforeseeable future.
The largest surge in monthly inflation rates since 2005, which overshot the Fed’s 2 percent rate, has pushed the Federal Reserve into an aggressive stance, expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points next week.
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