Hike-halt hope on rates

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation slowed in February, raising optimism that the central bank is nearing the end of its interest rate-hiking campaign even as prices remain higher than normal.

Overall consumer prices increased by 5% in February compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department’s Personal Consumption Expenditures Index data released Friday.

That was down from a revised 5.3% increase in January.

On a monthly basis, overall PCE inflation rose by 0.3% from January to February — a slowdown from a revised increase of 0.6% from December to January.

The Fed’s most recent projections from March suggest at least one more interest rate hike to come — though some experts have argued the recent turmoil at US banks could lead Chair Jerome Powell (right) and his colleagues to pause or even cut rates by the end of the year.

The Fed enacted a quarter percentage point rate hike after its last two-day policy meeting in a sign that central bankers were prioritizing bringing down inflation over economic fears related to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York.