Heard on the Street: How high is inflation? Federal Reserve policy makers are closely watching inflation, but probably not the gauge you’re using, and theirs isn’t as high
Federal Reserve policy makers are closely watching inflation, but probably not the gauge you are using, and theirs isn’t quite as high
Russia’s attack on Ukraine helped push the price of oil to over $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014. Here’s how rising oil costs could further boost inflation across the U.S. economy. Photo illustration: Todd JohnsonThe inflation numbers that people pay the most attention to and the inflation numbers that the Federal Reserve cares about aren’t the same. In the months ahead, those differences could really matter.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expect Thursday’s consumer inflation report from the Labor Department will show that overall prices in February rose by 7.8% from a year earlier, their biggest gain since January 1982. Core prices, which exclude food and energy items in an attempt to better capture inflation’s trend, are expected to show a 6.4% rise, which would be the biggest gain since August 1982.