Inflation Numbers: "drops" to 6%, housing costs remain high

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The latest inflation numbers are in line with expectations, dropping to 6% year-over-year, with “supercore” inflation increasing slightly, according to Labor Bureau data.

Supercore inflation is a new buzzword used by economists to describe the price of services for things like visiting the dentist or getting a haircut, but it excludes housing, food and energy costs. The concept has been a concern for a while: Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell singled out supercore price growth as the “most important category” for understanding the “future evolution” of inflation in a speech last November.

In February, “supercore” services inflation rose 0.2% for the month and was 4% higher than a year ago.

Inflation is down overall compared with last year, but the underlying month-over-month price of all goods and services increased 0.4% in February, following an average monthly gain of 0.6% in the previous six months, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI).

The increase was driven mostly by shelter costs, which were up 0.8%, compared with 0.7% last month. This was largely expected, as consumers are still reeling from housing costs that have surged in the last two years.

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