Markets have fretted about core inflation recently, now analysts are concerned about a highly specific price gauge within the data – ‘supercore’ inflation.
This measure tracks services inflation, excluding food, energy, and housing, which has recently surged, rising 4.8% year-over-year in March 2024 and over 8% on a three-month annualised basis.
The situation is further complicated as some of the most persistent elements of services inflation include essential household expenses such as car and housing insurance, along with property taxes. Wall Street was unsettled by a recent consumer price index report that exceeded expectations, yet the focus is on the ‘supercore’ inflation reading within the data.
Economists also analysed the core CPI, which omits the volatile prices of food and energy, to discern the true inflation trend. The ‘supercore’ gauge goes a step further by also removing shelter and rent costs from its services calculation.
Federal Reserve officials find this measure particularly useful in the current environment, viewing the spike in housing inflation as a transient issue rather than a reliable indicator of underlying price trends.
Supercore inflation accelerated to a 4.8% pace year over year in March 2024, the highest in 11 months.
Sticky inflation problem
Adding complexity to the situation is the declining consumer savings rate coupled with rising borrowing costs, which may compel the central bank to maintain a restrictive monetary policy “until something breaks,” according to Fitzpatrick.
Analysts warn that the Federal Reserve may struggle to reduce inflation through additional rate hikes, as the prevailing factors are more persistent and less responsive to stringent monetary policy.