<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Gas prices at highest level since November"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">If you’re expecting a reprieve after January’s disappointing <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/02/13/inflation-how-its-affecting-consumers-now/72576975007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">inflation report</a>, well….don’t. The February consumer price index is projected to show another monthly leap in prices that keeps annual inflation elevated and the Federal Reserve wary about cutting <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/03/06/fed-interest-rate-cuts-powell/72846917007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">interest rates</a> in the near term.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">More encouraging news is in the offing from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/02/29/economy-saving-rate-recession-risk/72790561007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">retail sales</a>, which probably picked up after a feeble January showing.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">And Americans’ <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/02/02/strong-jobs-consumers-wary/72454376007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">perceptions about the economy and inflation</a> likely held steady or dipped in March amid rising gasoline prices and a volatile stock market.</p><figure class="gnt_em gnt_em_img"><img class="gnt_em_img_i" style="height:372px" fetchpriority="high" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/media/2022/08/13/USATODAY/usatsports/imageForEntry2-jQI.jpg?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/media/2022/08/13/USATODAY/usatsports/imageForEntry2-jQI.jpg?width=1320&height=744&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="Inflation has eased but it's still high"/></figure><h2 class="gnt_ar_b_mt">Is inflation expected to go down?</h2><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>30,000-foot view</strong>: After a pandemic-induced spike, inflation has tumbled to about 3% from 9.1% in mid-2022 but progress toward the Fed’s 2% goal has been halting lately. The consumer price index rose 0.3% in January, a bit faster than the recent trend, but that still lowered annual inflation to 3.1% from 3.3%.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>Protect your assets:</strong> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":body nav (hys)|e|auto spike click:6|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" href="https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/banking/savings/best-high-yield-savings-accounts/">Best high-yield savings accounts of 2023</a></p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Meanwhile a core CPI measure that strips out volatile food and energy items also accelerated, climbing 0.4% and keeping the yearly rise at 3.9%. While goods prices continued to fall or rise modestly, the cost of services is still increasing smartly, in part because of workers’ healthy pay increases.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>The forecast</strong>: On <strong>Tuesday</strong>, the Labor Department is expected to announce that consumer prices overall jumped 0.4% on more expensive gasoline, holding annual inflation at 3.1.%. according to a Bloomberg survey of...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/03/10/inflation-rate-report-this-week/72898803007/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
