Infla­tion rose to 2.7% in March in pre­ferred Fed gauge

Infla­tion ticked up to 2.7% for the year end­ing in March, as mea­sured by the per­son­al con­sump­tion expen­di­tures price index, which is the gauge favored by the Fed­er­al Reserve.
The rise in head­line infla­tion report­ed Fri­day morn­ing by the Bureau of Eco­nom­ic Analy­sis is bad news for the Fed, which is work­ing to quash infla­tion by keep­ing inter­est rates ele­vat­ed. The con­sen­sus among econ­o­mists was that PCE infla­tion would punch in at 2.6%. The Fed’s tar­get is 2% infla­tion in the PCE index.
From Feb­ru­ary to March, infla­tion rose 0.3%, about i …