US annual personal consumption expenditures price index eases to 4.2%: Report

Amid the Federal Reserve mulling another interest-rate hike next week to tackle rising prices, favored measure of inflation slowed substantially last month, reported AP.

According to the data released by the the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the annual personal consumption expenditures price index eased from 5.1 percent in February to 4.2 percent in March. It also registered a sharp decline recorded in energy prices.

As per data from CME Group, futures traders, predict the Federal Reserve opt to raise its benchmark lending rate by a quarter-point.

To bring inflation back down to its long-term target of two percent, the Federal Reserve has been closely watching closely.

Although annual PCE eased significantly, core PCE only slowed slightly last month to 4.6 percent from a revised 4.7 percent in February.

Fed chair Jerome Powell, at its recent rate decision had susggested the central bank may only raise rates once more and then bring its current hiking cycle to a halt.

On a month-to-month basis, the PCE price index rose by 0.1 percent from February to March.

With agency inputs.