Latest inflation data could show further gradual improvement

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The persistence of high inflation will likely be on display — again — in Wednesday’s latest government report on consumer price increases. Yet there may also be some signs of improvement in the inflation data for March, with the prices of some key items, such as gasoline, furniture and new cars, possibly rising more slowly or falling outright. Compared with 12 months earlier, economists have predicted that inflation slowed sharply, from 6% in February to 5.2% in March. But excluding volatile food and gas costs, so-called core prices are thought to have ticked up to 5.6% from a year ago, compared with a 5.5% rise in February. That figure has changed little since December.