US August PCE Inflation Up 2.2% YoY, 0.1%P Lower Than Expected

Shopping center view. [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 27th (local time) that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.2% in August compared to the same period last year. This increase was 0.1 percentage points lower than expected.

The core PCE price index, excluding energy and food, rose 2.7% year-over-year, matching expectations exactly.

The PCE price index measures the prices paid by U.S. residents when purchasing goods and services. It helps predict economic trends by indicating whether national spending has increased or decreased over a specific period. The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) uses the core PCE, excluding food and energy, as a key indicator when deciding on benchmark interest rates.