Inflation May Have Dropped Below 3% Last Month

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation may have fallen below a 3% annual rate last month, which would be the lowest level in nearly three years and a potentially significant milestone as the Biden administration seeks to bolster Americans’ views of the economy before the November elections. Economists have estimated that when the government issues the latest consumer price index Tuesday, it will show that prices rose just 0.2% from December to January for a third month in a row. Falling gas prices are expected to have slowed overall inflation. And compared with a year earlier, inflation is thought to have cooled to 2.9%, down sharply from 3.4% in December. That would be the lowest year-over-year inflation since March 2021.