The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed that inflationary pressures remained elevated in August, as policymakers seek to balance the need to restore price stability against a weakening labor market following last week’s interest rate cut.
The Commerce Department on Friday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.3% in August from a month ago and is up 2.7% from last year.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.9% year-over-year.
Federal Reserve policymakers are focusing on the PCE headline figure as they try to bring inflation back to their long-run target of 2%, though they view core data as a better indicator of inflation. Headline PCE ticked higher from 2.6% in July to 2.7% in August, while core PCE held steady at 2.9% over that period.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Read the full article here
