Is inflation finally under control in the biggest economy in the world?

 
The signs are looking good, but what’s it like for real people, away from the numbers?

Don’t break out the party hats just yet.

Despite recent signs that inflation is cooling, the fight to bring down the huge price increases of the past three years has a long way to go.

Financial markets drew optimism from two reports last week showing that the rate of growth in both the consumer prices and those that businesses pay for the goods had hit multiyear lows.

But those data points reflected relative rates of change, and didn’t capture the overall surge that led to the highest inflation level in more than 40 years.