The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, April 27, edition that a measure of inflation closely tracked by the U.S. Federal Reserve remained high in March, reinforcing the Fed's reluctance to cut interest rates and underscoring a burden for President Biden's re-election bid. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that according to the government's report on Friday, prices increased by 0.3 per cent from February to March, which is the same rate as the previous month. However, this marks the third consecutive month that the index has risen faster than the Fed's 2-per-cent inflation target. In March, prices were up by 2.7 per cent compared with the same time last year, indicating a rise from February's 2.5-per-cent annual increase. The Fed's preferred inflation rate reached a peak of 7.1 per cent in 2022, but steadily decreased for most of 2023. However, this year the inflation rate has remained above the target rate set by the Fed. This is due to higher prices for gas, restaurant meals, healthcare, auto repairs and insurance, among other items. Despite this, grocery prices have remained unchanged last month and have only increased by 1.5 per cent compared with the same period last year.