Consumer prices south of the border accelerated in the year to March, with a measure of underlying inflation surging to near the Federal Reserve's 2% target as last year's weak readings dropped out of the calculation.
Figures released Monday by the U.S. Commerce Department showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index jumped 2% year-on-year in March. That was the biggest gain since February 2017 and followed a 1.7% rise in February.
The rise in the annual inflation measures was anticipated by economists and Fed officials and is not expected to alter the U.S. central bank's gradual pace of interest rate increases.
Annual inflation readings in March of last year were held down by large declines in the price of cell phone service plans.
The PCE price index was unchanged on a monthly basis after advancing 0.2% in February.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index soared 1.9% in the 12 months through March, the biggest increase since February 2017, after increasing 1.6% in February. The so-called core PCE price index rose 0.2% month-on-month in March after a similar gain in February
