February 2023 CPI Report: Here’s What the Inflation Cat Dragged In
Economy
March 14, 2023
Three letters that we’re all too familiar with by now: SBF, SVB and CPI.
Today, we get to look at CPI — the Consumer Price Index — which measures the change in consumer prices.
February’s CPI report came out yesterday, and here are the headline numbers:
- CPI rose 0.4% in February from the previous month (6% annual increase) — in line with expectations.
- Core CPI (excl. food and energy) increased 0.5% last month — more than expected, but the 5.5% annual increase was in line with forecasts.
A sudden rise in shelter costs accounted for over 70% of the monthly increase. But a slowing housing market is yet to be reflected in the report since leases are typically locked for 12 months.
- So the Fed has turned to “super-core” inflation — which measures services inflation without housing.
- By this measure, CPI was up 0.2% from the past month — with a 3.7% annual increase.
What does this mean? Inflation is still falling — but is still far from the Fed’s 2% target. Investors looked at the report to gauge how much the Fed could raise rates by next week. More on this below.
One painful stat: This is the 23rd month in a row where the US cost of living outpaced real wage growth.
