The consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.1% in March, pushing down the 12-month inflation rate to 2.4%, from 2.8% in February this year, , the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
The ease comes amid series of tariffs introduced by President Trump this year. The Federal Reserve has been reluctant to move to quickly in dropping interest rates, especially in an uncertain geopolitical environment which could threaten economic growth.
Last month, the Federal Reserve kept its interest rate unchanged, maintaining its target range at 4.25% to 4.5%.
The Committee is set to maintain this target range until it carefully assesses incoming data. It continues to reduce its Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities. Starting this month, the Committee will:
- lower the monthly redemption cap on Treasury securities from $25 billion to $5 billion
- maintain the monthly redemption cap on agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at $35 billion.
Food inflation and egg prices
Food prices climbed 0.4% in March. The food at home index rose 0.5% over the month as four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased.
Driven primarily driven by a 5.9% increase in the index for eggs, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.3% in March. Egg prices have been on the rise and according to the BLS data, the average price of eggs per dozen was $6.23 in March.
Egg prices have often been cited as an indicator of inflation when in fact the real reason lies in the growing number of avian flu cases, which started in early 2022 and is considered the largest bird flu outbreak. According to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), USDA, retail egg prices continue to experience volatile month-to-month changes since the outbreak.
In order to lower egg prices, President Trump has put into action a comprehensive plan.
The average retail price provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the average price of a dozen eggs peaked at $6.23 in March.
In its most recent Food Price Outlook, egg prices were predicted to increase 57.6% in 2025, with a prediction interval of 31.1 to 91.5%.
Egg prices in February 2025 were 58.8% higher than in February 2024.
Egg prices are the most volatile category tracked by USDA, ERS, which is why there is a wide prediction interval. So egg price is often hard to predict.