March inflation rates decrease

written by TheFeedWired

May 2, 2025

(KBTX) – Grocery prices and the cost of living are still high, but the inflation rate is going down. This is according to the Consumer price Index Summary by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The latest data shows the annual inflation rate for March was 2.4%, a drop from 2.8% in February.

This is also the lowest level since last October. The consumer price index (CPI) is a measure that tracks changes in the prices of commonly purchased goods and services typically purchased by consumers over time. That number rose 2.4% last month compared to March of 2024.

While the CPI doesn’t track everything people buy, it represents what an average consumer might buy, like groceries, rent, gas, clothes and healthcare. While CPI doesn't track everything people buy, it represents what an average consumer might buy. Even though that means prices are higher than they were a year ago, the rate at which prices are increasing is slowing down.

This shows progress in the Federal Reserve’s battle to bring inflation down to a 2% rate. The report for the month of March comes after inflation rose 2.8% on an annual basis in February. On a monthly basis, prices actually fell in March, but just barely at 0.1%.

However, it was the first monthly drop in nearly five years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation eased last month due partly to lower fuel prices, with gasoline tumbling 9.8% on an annual basis. With inflation seeming to ease up, other goods and services have dropped in price.

Some reasons prices fell were because of sharp drops in travel-related costs like airfares, which decreased 5.3% from February to March, and hotel room prices dropped 3.5%. Inflation dropped to the lowest level since last October. (kbtx) Government data shows visits to the United States from overseas fell nearly 12% last month.

Economists said those declines fell due to President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policy. Julien Lafarge, a chief market strategist at Barclays Private Bank, said easing inflation- combined with a 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs- should help ease some concerns when the U.S. Federal Reserve meets on May 7 to make its next interest rate decision. Experts also said because of other tariffs that have recently gone into effect- like auto tariffs, which can make it more expensive to buy a car and get parts from overseas- inflation could pick back up later this year.