For the first time all year, consumer price index inflation came in line with investor expectations, rising by 0.3% in April but slightly moderating from 3.5% to 3.4% as measured for the last 12 months. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile categories of food and energy, also rose by 0.3% to moderate from 3.8% to 3.6%. Crucially, core CPI on a three-month annualized basis, which more precisely measures the recent trajectory of the price instability borne by consumers, slipped from 4.5% to 4.1% last month.
But while markets will surely pounce on this news as a promise that the Federal Reserve will deliver a much-desired pivot to slash the federal funds rate from its current 23-year high, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not delivered solely decent news.
