You may be familiar with the consumer price index, the most well-known measure of U.S. inflation. You may even know about core inflation, which strips out food and energy prices that tend to be volatile. Since November, the Fed has focused on an even narrower measure to guide interest-rate policy: supercore inflation. So what exactly is it?

What is supercore?

The name is a nod to the Fed’s focus on a slimmer set of prices that remain stubbornly high. Supercore inflation comprises the price of services — things such as barbers, lawyers or plumbers — excluding energy and housing.