The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge declined last month for the first time in 2024

WASHINGTON – A price gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve cooled slightly last month, a sign that inflation may be easing after rising in the first three months of this year.

Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices, excluding volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.2% from March to April, down from 0.3% the previous month. Measured in relation to the previous year, so-called “basic” prices rose 2.8% in April, the same as in March.

Inflation fell sharply in the second half of last year but then stabilized above the Fed’s 2% target in the early months of 2024. With polls showing that higher rents, groceries and gasoline are angering voters as As the presidential campaign intensifies, Donald Trump and his Republican allies sought to blame President Joe Biden.

A series of recent comments from Fed officials have underscored their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as necessary to fully defeat inflation. As recently as March, Fed policymakers collectively predicted three rate cuts this year, starting in June. However, Wall Street investors now expect only one rate cut this year, in November.

An influential Fed official, John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said Thursday that he expects inflation to start cooling again in the second half of the year. Until that happens, however, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has made clear that the central bank is prepared to keep its key rate pegged at 5.3%, its highest level in 23 years.

The central bank raised its benchmark rate from near zero to its current 15-month high, the fastest such increase in four decades, to try to tame inflation. The result has been significantly higher rates for mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer and business lending.