The inflation rate for goods and services fell to 8.3 percent in April from 8.5 percent in March, the Labor Department said in Washington on Wednesday. Experts had expected a value of 8.1 percent for April.
Some experts also see the decline as a sign that inflation has probably peaked: “But this does not mean that the inflation problem has been solved,” explained Commerzbank economist Christoph Balz.
In March, inflation had reached its highest level since late 1981. Material bottlenecks and increased energy costs, also as a result of the Ukraine war, keep the price pressure high. In view of the strong rise in prices and the hot labor market, the Fed recently made the largest jump in interest rates in 22 years. At the beginning of the month, the monetary watchdogs unanimously decided to increase the interest rate range by half a percentage point from 0.75 to 1.00 percent. They signaled further strong moves higher to keep inflation in check.
Source: Nachrichten
