US says Inflation Down

By Dana Malcolm  

Staff Writer  

#USA, March 31, 2023 – The US inflation rate has dropped again. Welcomed information as the ripple effects of these lowered costs will mean less expense to islanders who depend heavily upon the US for imports. Overnight, in the TCI, FortisTCI announced that consumers can expect a drop in energy prices; specifically, the fuel factor rate has declined 18 percent.

The rate now stands at 6 percent, meaning prices are 6 percent higher than they were in February last year. That figure is down from 6.4 percent in January. This is according to the US Bureau of Labor statistics which measures the Consumer Price Index. This is a far cry from the 9 percent highs in June 2022, that saw food and gasoline reach staggering highs. 

Prices between January and February rose 4 percent, down from a 5 percent rise in January. Prices are rising more slowly than they did last year, closer to the healthy 2 percent inflation that the Federal Reserve, America’s Central Bank, craves. The number is still far enough away that the Fed has continued to raise interest rates.