Federal Reserve's target rate of inflation is 2%, but current inflation remains higher
Inflation cooled down slightly in April to 3.4% from 3.5% in March
Retail sales for April grew by 0.4%
Some sectors experienced growth in consumer spending: gas stations (3.1%), clothing stores (1.6%), electronic and appliance stores (1.5%), and food and beverages stores (0.8%)
Economic indicators, specifically inflation and retail sales, have been a topic of interest in recent weeks. According to various sources, including the Federal Reserve and economic reports, there have been conflicting signs regarding the current state of these indicators.
Retail sales for April showed a flat growth rate of 0.4%, which was lower than anticipated. However, some sectors experienced growth in consumer spending such as gas stations (3.1%), clothing stores (1.6%), electronic and appliance stores (1.5%), and food and beverages stores (0.8%).
Inflation, on the other hand, cooled down slightly in April with consumer prices coming in at 3.4%, compared to 3.5% in March.
Despite this slight decrease, inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%. This could potentially lead to interest rate cuts as a means to combat inflation and boost economic growth.
It is important for consumers and investors alike to stay informed about these economic indicators as they can have significant impacts on financial markets and personal finances. It is also crucial for individuals to be aware of potential biases in reporting, ensuring that all relevant information is considered when making decisions.
The Federal Reserve's personal consumption expenditures price index minus food and energy is expected to rise 0.2% in April, indicating modest relief from stubborn price pressures.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues have stressed the need for more evidence that inflation is on a sustained path to their 2.5% goal before cutting the benchmark interest rate.
Accuracy
Economists expect the overall PCE price index to climb 0.3% for a third month.
The PCE price measure is seen rising 2.7% on an annual basis, while the core metric is expected at 2.8%.
Retail sales were flat in April, lower than the anticipated 0.4% growth.
Consumer spending picked up in sectors like gas stations (3.1%), clothing stores (1.6%), electronic and appliance stores (1.5%), and food and beverages stores (0.8%) while most other sectors saw a drop off.
Accuracy
Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate was 3.4% in April, down from 3.5% in March and in-line with expectations.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, cooled to its lowest level since April 2021 at a rate of 3.6% on an annual basis.
Existing home sales are projected to inch down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.18 million units and new home sales are expected to fall to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 680K units in the week ahead.
The Consumer Price Index and Personal Consumption Expenditures index are two main measures of inflation in the US.
Many Americans do not believe that inflation has fallen despite evidence to the contrary.
Some people are denying disinflation, similar to what happened after the 2008 financial crisis when some people refused to accept that there was no runaway inflation despite theoretical models and reality showing otherwise.
Accuracy
The rate of price increases over the past year, as shown by both indices, was much slower than it was during inflation’s peak in 2022.
Inflation swaps project just 2.1 percent inflation over the next year.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The author makes several statements in the article that are not fallacious. He correctly states that inflation has come down and provides evidence from both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures index (PCE). He also explains why some people may not believe inflation has fallen, which is due to their confusion between the level of prices and inflation rate. However, there are a few instances where the author uses inflammatory rhetoric when referring to 'inflation truthers'. This can be seen as an appeal to ridicule fallacy. Additionally, there is a lack of clarity in some parts of the article regarding who these 'inflation truthers' are and what exactly they are denying. This could potentially lead to misunderstandings or misinterpretations.
][The first and most innocent version of disinflation denial ...] comes from people insisting that the benign numbers are fake.[
Some of us have seen this movie before... Now the inflation truthers are back.
