Inflation fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 2.1% for the year ending in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday in an update to the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge.
That ties the lowest level for headline PCE inflation since February 2021.
Economists had expected inflation in the index, the personal consumption expenditures index, to tick down slightly to 2.2%.
The decrease shows that the Fed has made progress on prices and that inflation could be coming closer into alignment with the Fed’s goals. Falling inflation also gives more breathing room to President Donald Trump to pursue his agenda.
“This year has been all about tariff and trade policy and because there has been little in the way of inflation or unemployment surprises, the Fed has been able to stand aside and leave rates unchanged,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management.
The Fed’s goal is 2% annual inflation.
On a month-to-month basis, inflation rose 0.1%.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, fell two tenths of a percentage point to 2.5% on an annual basis. Core inflation rose 0.1% on a monthly basis.
The separate consumer price index, a more closely watched gauge of inflation, has shown inflation falling over the past three months, down to 2.3% in April after a recent peak of 3% in January.
The Fed cut rates by a whole percentage point last year. As inflation proved difficult to subdue, though, the central bank opted to hold interest rates steady at its January meeting and has kept rates steady since then, despite some pressure from the Trump administration to cut rates.
Notably, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell met with Trump in the White House a day ahead of Friday’s PCE inflation report.
The central bank said the two discussed “economic developments including for growth, employment, and inflation.”
“Chair Powell did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the Fed said in a statement.
The White House press secretary, though, said that Trump did press Powell to lower rates.
In a post on social media earlier this month, after the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady, Trump called “Too late” Powell a “FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue.”
There has been some concern by the Fed that Trump’s expansive tariff agenda could drive up the prices of good, and in turn, put upward pressure on the country’s inflation — making the central bank’s task more challenging.
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Inflation expectations have also risen.
“Near-term measures of inflation expectations have moved up, as reflected in both market- and survey-based measures,” Powell said at a press conference earlier this month. “Survey respondents, including consumers, businesses, and professional forecasters point to tariffs as the driving factor.”
