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Inflation has eased gradually across the broad U.S. economy, and some areas of consumer spending, such as furniture and gasoline, have even deflated over the past year.
Deflation is when prices decline for goods and services.
It is rare for prices to fall from their current levels across the economy at large, economists said.
However, prices for many physical goods have deflated as supply-and-demand dynamics return to normal following pandemic-era contortions.
“Outside of goods prices, I don’t think we’ll see price cuts,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.
“[Businesses] will hold the line on price if demand is soft but outright price declines are very rare, and even in a recession are not common,” Zandi said.
Additionally, prices for energy and food commodities can be volatile, so it is not unusual to see swings up and down. Consumer electronics also continually improve in quality, a dynamic that statisticians equate to deflation but which …