CHART OF THE WEEK
US inflation figures, excluding food and energy, have surprised to the upside. For the second consecutive month, core prices rose by 0.3%. Although it is still too early to consider that inflation is actually accelerating, data from the last two months has shown the strongest rises since the spring of 2006. Prices excluding food and energy have reached 2.3% year-on-year, their highest level since 2008.
Our analysis
Inflation figures can sometimes be skewed by different price categories. To account for bias, the Cleveland Fed calculates a trimmed index that excludes the widest variations, whether upwards or downwards, and an additional index using the median price variations of the different inflation basket components.
These two measures confirm that inflation is gaining pace, although less so than core inflation.
The opinion expressed above is dated as of March 18th, 2016 and is liable to change.
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