美国国家公共电台 NPR--Inflation eased in March but prices are still climbing too fast for comfort

Inflation eased in March but prices are still climbing too fast for comfort

Transcript¹

New consumer prices data for March show that inflation has fallen from a four-decade high last summer, but prices are still climbing faster than the Federal Reserve would like.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

New inflation numbers are out this morning. And they show the pace of price hikes slowed a bit last month. But people's wallets are still being stretched. And the rising cost of services such as travel, restaurant meals, could keep inflation uncomfortably high for some time to come. NPR's Scott Horsley is here with us to talk about today's inflation report. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE²: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: OK, Scott, so I understand from you, unfortunately, prices are still going up, but not as fast as they were last summer. What else did we learn from today's report?

HORSLEY: It does show some improvement. Annual inflation in March was 5%. That's down from 6% in February and just over 9% last June. In fact, March's annual inflation rate was the lowest since May of 2021. So it is moving in the right direction. But, you know, prices are still climbing about 2 1/2 times as fast as the Federal Reserve would like. And yesterday, the International Monetary³ Fund said stubbornly high inflation and rising interest rates around the world are some of the factors weighing on global economic growth. Now, the IMF actually raised its forecast for economic growth here in the U.S. this year, although, it's still fairly lackluster. The projections⁴ of GDP growth, 1.6%.

FADEL: OK. So I know I keep asking you this. And you've explained this in many ways on the air. But what is keeping inflation so high?

HORSLEY: It's a moving target. You know, when inflation first spiked⁵ back in 2021, it was largely the product of runaway⁶ demand for goods and supply chains that couldn't keep up. Then last year, Russia invaded Ukraine, and we saw the price of energy and food skyrocket. Some of those price increases have reversed. Gasoline prices were down last month. Food prices were flat. But Austan Goolsbee, who's one of the newest members of the Fed's rate setting committee, says now people are spending more money on services. And that's creating a new inflation headache.

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AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: The economy is still coming back from bizarro COVID times. Travel, hotels, restaurants, leisure, recreation, entertainment - demand has returned, and the inflation has proved particularly persistent⁷.

HORSLEY: And Goolsbee warns service prices may not be as responsive to the Fed's main inflation fighting tool, which, of course, is higher interest rates.

FADEL: Now, Fed watchers still expect the central bank to raise interest rates?

HORSLEY: They do. Right now, betting markets think the Fed will raise interest rates by another quarter percentage point when it next meets in three weeks. But that could be the last rate hike for a while. You know, since the collapse⁸ of Silicon⁹ Valley and Signature banks last month, other lenders have gotten stingier about making loans. And that caution among bankers acts kind of like another rate hike. It amplifies¹⁰ the Fed's rate hikes and serves to break the economy. So Goolsbee says he and his colleagues had to be careful in deciding just how much higher interest rates ought to go.

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GOOLSBEE: The Fed's job is to be more paranoid than anyone else. That's what they pay us for. In unluckier times, more interesting times like the times we're in right now, with wild shocks and financial stresses, it means we have to dig into loads of new information.

HORSLEY: Today's inflation report is one key piece of information for the Fed. But the central bank will also be watching closely for news about bank lending and wages and spending patterns over the next three weeks.

FADEL: Someday, Scott, you're going to get on here and tell me everything's cheaper, I hope. One day.

HORSLEY: (Laughter).

FADEL: NPR's Scott Horsley. Thank you so much.

HORSLEY: Take care.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

5 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

6 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

7 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

10 amplifies   

放大，扩大( amplify的第三人称单数 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Gain is the number of times the amplifier amplifies a signal. 增益就是放大器放大信号的倍数。
• Such panicky behaviour amplifies the impact of the Russian export ban. 这样的恐慌行为放大了俄罗斯小麦出口禁令的影响效应。