Rising inflation is still elusive for the US economy

Rising inflation is still elusive for the US economy. According to today's CPI release, the cost of living is unchanged from last month, and up a mere 1.2% on an annual basis. That's well below the Fed's 2% target, and many economists believe the US would be better off with a 3% inflation rate or higher. Energy was the biggest component of the CPI to drop, but apparel saw a decline as well. Even core inflation, which strips out food and energy, only increased by 0.2% from the previous month. The annual rate for core inflation is somewhat higher at 1.7%, but still not high enough to be considered healthy for the economy. Keep in mind, deflation has always been a far bigger risk than inflation since the Great Recession began. A little dose of higher inflation would be good news for everyone. (VIEW LINK)