The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed that consumer prices remained elevated in September, ahead of the central bank’s policy meeting next week.
The Commerce Department on Friday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.3% in September from a month ago and is up 2.8% from last year. Those figures were in line with the estimate of LSEG economists.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.8% year over year. The core monthly figures were in line with expectations, while the year over year figure was slightly cooler.
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 was flat at 2.8% from August to September, while core PCE declined slightly from 2.9% to 2.8%.
Prices for goods were up 1.4% in September from a year ago, an acceleration from the 0.9% reading in August and the 0.6% readings reported in both June and July.
Durable goods were up 0.9% from a year ago in September, a slight deceleration from the 1.2% reading in August. Nondurable goods price growth accelerated in September, rising 1.7% compared with last year following a 0.7% reading in August.
The release of September data was delayed by the federal government shutdown that lasted 43 days, the longest in U.S. history.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
