The value of retail purchases increased 0.7% from February. Excluding cars and gasoline, sales jumped 1% month over month.

After the metric rose 3.8% rise year-over-year: "The sound you heard there was the door slamming on a June rate cut."

Even so, Fed officials are looking for more evidence that inflation is sustainably on a downward trend, and in the meantime, they're not rushing to cut interest rates.

At the end of last year, GDP rose at a 3.4 percent annualized pace, while GDI jumped 4.8 percent, the most in two years.

After a steep drop in January, today's report points to a consumer who's growing more discerning as the labor market starts to cool, credit access becomes more limited, and higher prices continue to bite.

In February, the core CPI rose 0.4% from January and 3.8% from a year ago.

"The February jobs report doesn't look recessionary. But it does suggest the Fed is getting closer to mission accomplished, calming the hot jobs market that contributed to high inflation."

In January, the PCE price index rose 0.4 percent from December and 2.8 percent from a year prior.