Additionally, core inflation—which does not include volatile food and energy prices—is predicted by economists to have decreased from 2.8% in February to 2.7%. That is a crucial metric for anybody who is interested in interest rates.   Because core PCE is unaffected by external factors, such as weather, which can affect the price of food and oil but is not related to larger inflation trends, policymakers at the Fed closely monitor core PCE as a measure of the trajectory of inflation.