© Getty ImagesFed Chair Jerome Powell
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge
measured above expectations in March as the U.S. continues to see a surge in prices, among other concerning economic data, according to data from the
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released Friday.
The
personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index surged 0.3% in March, totaling 2.7% for the year and up from 2.5% in February,
according to the BEA. The March PCE report adds to other recent concerning economic data, such as a report from the BEA on Thursday showing
economic growth slowed to just 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024.
The PCE price index, which the Fed looks primarily to in determining inflation trends in order to set monetary policy, was slightly lower than the consumer price index (CPI), another measure of inflation. CPI
measured 3.5% in March year-over-year, surging up from 3.2% the month before, far from the Fed's 2% target.
The U.S. has seen persistently elevated rates of inflation since retreating from a high of 9% under President Joe Biden in June 2022, declining to 3.1% in June 2023, and staying above 3% ever since,
according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Comment: Reuters reports on Russia's comments: Recent reports state that Biden's Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan & TikTok bill also included of the theft of Russian assets.
The Duran speculates that part of the reason for the West's theft of Russian assets is also to set a precedent for the theft of Chinese assets - which, one would assume, are many times greater: