core inflation

noun

economics

: a measure of inflation that excludes items having volatile prices (such as fuel and food) from the price index being used

The Federal Reserve's past emphasis on core inflation, which strips food and energy from the price indexes in order to gauge the underlying trend of prices, has always confused both Wall Street and Main Street.

—James C. Cooper

compare headline inflation

Examples of core inflation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Before the tariffs, the U.S. was seeing some progress on prices and core inflation last month was the lowest it's been in four years. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 17 Apr. 2025

For instance, the tariffs could slow GDP growth to 1.4% in 2025, while core inflation could rise to 3.9% this year, according to an April 2 forecast from Oxford Economics. —Alain Sherter, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2025

But Boivin said investors should stay away from longer-term Treasurys due to the U.S. deficit and sticky core inflation. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2025

Jonathan Pingle, chief U.S. economist at UBS, has penciled in a percentage point’s worth of cuts this year even as core inflation reaches 4.6 percent. —Colby Smith, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for core inflation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration