Kevin Warsh Suggests New Inflation Metrics Amid Federal Reserve Hearing

AI Summary

Kevin Warsh, nominee for the Federal Reserve chair, suggested a new approach to inflation measurement that includes 'trimmed averages'. Bank of America reported that this new method could yield a 12-month inflation mean of 2.3% and a median of 2.8% as of February, compared to the core PCE at 3%. This change could impact Fed policy by possibly increasing the significance of food and energy prices, which are currently excluded from the core PCE calculation. Warsh emphasized that he is focused on identifying the underlying inflation rate, raising concerns about potential shifts in Fed strategy that may contradict his goals.