White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein responded to the recent March PCE report on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power.” The report showed an increase in the yearly PCE inflation rate while the annual core rate remained steady, with 0.3% monthly growth in both overall and core PCE, matching February’s numbers. Bernstein mentioned that it was satisfying to meet the expectations for both headline and core PCE numbers and expressed optimism that inflation will gradually decrease towards the target.
He pointed out that consumer sentiment has improved in line with the progress in inflation, particularly the decrease in inflation towards the end of last year. Bernstein noted that inflation is currently 60% lower than its peak and reiterated his belief that inflation will continue on a fluctuating path towards the target.
Bernstein raised the question of whether the factors that contributed to the decrease in inflation in the second half of the year are still present or have disappeared. He emphasized his view that these factors are still in place, and he expects inflation to gradually decrease towards the target.
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