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Federal Home Loan Bank economist: inflation near target but services and housing keep pressure on prices
Summary
Jason Wong of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston told the Ways and Means briefing the U.S. has largely beaten goods inflation and now faces persistent service-sector inflation — notably shelter — that keeps core measures above the Fed’s 2% goal. He said labor-market trends and housing are the key risks to a soft landing.
Jason Wong, senior vice president of strategic planning and research at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, told the Ways and Means briefing that U.S. inflation has moved from the highs of 2022 to “between 2% and 3%,” close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. He said the decline is largely the result of easing price pressure for goods after pandemic-era supply-chain disruptions, while inflation in services — especially rent and other housing costs — remains elevated.
Wong said the Fed focuses on the PCE (personal consumption expenditures) index; “the most recent reading of that was 2.4%,” he said. He noted core PCE, which strips volatile food and energy, is slightly higher and that “the core index is still coming in…
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