Inflation moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s target in August, easing the way for future interest rate cuts, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure the Fed focuses on to measure the cost of goods and services in the U.S. economy, rose 0.1% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.2%, down from 2.5% in July.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting all-items PCE to rise 0.1% on the month and 2.3% from a year ago.
Excluding food and energy, core PCE rose 0.1% in August and was up 2.7% from a year ago, the 12-month number 0.1 percentage point higher than July. Fed officials tend to focus more on core as better measure of long-run trends. The respective forecasts were for 0.2% and 2.7% on core.
Though the inflation numbers indicated continued progress, the personal spending and income numbers both came in light.
Personal income increased 0.2% on the month while spending rose 0.2%. The respective estimates were for increases of 0.4% and 0.3%.
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