The latest inflation report just dropped

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), America’s most widely-used measure of inflation, is pulling its best Jay Sean impression and going down, down, down, down, down.

According to Labor Department figures released yesterday, inflation stood at 5.0% over the year-long period ending in March. That’s down from 6.0% in February, and the index’s lowest annual figure in almost two years.

But while inflation may be down on an annual basis, it actually increased 0.1% from February to March. This rise was driven mainly by a 0.6% increase in shelter costs – which make up more than one-third of the entire CPI – and was partially counteracted by a 3.5% decrease in energy costs (which account for a tenth of the entire index).

• The core index, which excludes often-volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.4% month over month, after rising 0.5% in February and 0.4% in January and December.

📸 Big picture: The CPI has now fallen for nine straight months, down from a 40-year high of 9.1% last June. Though there is still a gap between the current inflation reading and the 2.0% target the Fed is shooting for, which means the US central bank is likely to raise interest rates for a tenth straight time after its next meeting in early May.