Is It Time to Add Food-at-Home Inflation to Measures of Core Inflation?

Amaze Lusompa, Jose Mustre-del-Rio, Jalen Nichols and Francisco Scott

Economic Bulletin, 2025, 4

Abstract: Since the mid-1970s, the Federal Reserve has used core inflation to examine trends in underlying inflation. Core inflation is considered a more stable measure as it excludes energy and food, historically viewed as the most volatile components of inflation. However, core inflation can be a challenge for central bankers to communicate, as food inflation is highly salient to consumers. We argue that food-at-home inflation has become less volatile over time and could be added to measures of core inflation with few drawbacks.

Keywords: inflation; food inflation; core inflation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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