Author: tourist_yp6g7u

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United States rose again in April, and measures of underlying inflation stayed high, a sign that further declines in inflation are likely to be slow and bumpy.

Prices increased 0.4% from March to April, the government said Wednesday, up from a 0.1% rise from February to March. Compared with a year earlier, prices climbed 4.9%, down slightly from March’s year-over-year increase.

The nation’s inflation rate has steadily cooled since peaking at 9.1% last June but remains far above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate.

For everyday consumer items, Wednesday’s inflation report was mixed. Gasoline prices jumped 3% just in April. By contrast, grocery prices dropped for a second straight month. Used car prices surged 4.4% after nine months of declines. Rental costs rose but at a slower pace.

Still, the data offered some signs that inflation is continuing to cool. Airline fares dropped 2.6% in April, and hotel prices plunged 3% after four straight monthly increases.

Excluding volatile energy and food costs, core prices rose 0.4% from March to April, the same as from February to March. It was the fifth straight month that core prices have risen at least 0.4%. Core prices are regarded as a better gauge of longer-term inflation trends, and monthly increases at that pace are far above the Fed’s 2% annual target.

Compared with a year ago, core inflation rose 5.5%, just below a year-over-year increase of 5.6% in March.

The Fed is paying particular attention to a measure of services inflation that covers such items as dining out, hotel stays and entertainment and has remained chronically high for much of the past year. This measure, which excludes energy services and housing, rose just 0.1% from March to April and 5.2% compared with a year ago. It had exceeded 6% a month ago.

Last week, the Fed signaled that it might pause its rate increases, after imposing 10 straight hikes, so that it could take time to assess how higher borrowing costs have affected the economy. The full economic impact of the hikes, though, might not become evident for months.

For more than two years, high inflation has been a significant burden for America’s consumers, a threat to the economy and a frustrating challenge for the Fed. The central bank has raised its key interest rate by a substantial 5 percentage points since March 2022 to try to drive inflation back down to its 2% target.

Besides making borrowing far more expensive for consumers and businesses, those higher rates have contributed to the collapse of three large banks in the past two months and to a likely pullback in bank lending. The result could be a further weakening of the economy.

Even more ominously, the government’s debt ceiling may be breached by early June, and Republicans in Congress are refusing to raise the cap unless President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats agree to sharp spending cuts. If the debt ceiling isn’t raised in time, the nation would default on its debt, a scenario that could ignite a global economic crisis. When they met last week, the Fed’s policymakers agreed to raise their benchmark rate by a quarter-point, to about 5.1% — the highest level in 16 years. The Fed’s rate hikes, which are intended to cool spending, growth and inflation, have led to higher costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit card and business borrowing.

Most economists think the rate hikes will, over time, have their intended effect. Yet most also worry that the hikes will weaken the economy so much as to tip it into a recession sometime this year.

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Harlem Bespoke also has a Twitter account with over 6,730 followers for those who want daily updates about stuff that is happening in the neighborhood. If you Twitter, check out our Harlem tweets and join here: LINK

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Harlem Bespoke: The Uptown Night Market returns for every second Thursday during the summer 2022 season after a successful first run in Manhattanville last fall.

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Harlem Bespoke: The house with the bold turret tower in the charming landmarked historic district of Hamilton Heights had an asking price set at $3.4 million back in 2019 returned with a slightly lower price at $3.35 million in 2021 and was recently pulled from the market this January.  Now the distinct abode has returned with the same asking but with a different broker.  As previously mentioned, this address is centrally located on the corner of 144th Street with the express trains just a block away.

We especially love the architecture here since the building is one of the most unique in the neighborhood but the lower price is probably based on the fact that 7-unit building has been chopped up to many apartments and the interior has little original details within.  With that said, a neighboring home did add back more classic details with spectacular results in the past so thing could always turn around if the right developer comes along: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2023

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Harlem Bespoke:  We were first to report that Charles Pan-Fried Chicken will be open a 125th Street location by Amsterdam Avenue back in November and now the storefront is officially open for business! This will officially be the fourth upper Manhattan location to open in recent years and we especially like the very Central Harlem location.  More on Charles can be found in our past post: LINK

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Harlem Bespoke: The update to this event is that the Spring fling will be cancelled due illness amongst staff and interns.  This event will not be rescheduled this year.

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