Inflation ticked up slightly to 3.5% in August in Fed’s preferred gauge
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter
September 29, 2023 08:32 AM
Inflation ticked up a tenth of a percentage point to 3.5% for the year ending in August, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures price index, the gauge favored by the Federal Reserve.
The report Friday morning from the Bureau of Economic Analysis tracks other readings that show inflation increased slightly last month amid the Fed’s campaign to slow it by hiking interest rates.
The latest report shows inflation is still above the central bank’s goal of 2% annual price growth, bad news for the economy and the Biden administration, which has tried to tout other positive economic developments, such as low unemployment and solid economic growth, as proof that the “Bidenomics” agenda is working.
Yet there was also good news in the report. Core PCE inflation, a measure of inflation that strips out energy and food prices and is generally less volatile, fell to a 3.9% year-over-year rate, down from 4.3% in July.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/inflation-ticked-up-slightly-to-3-5-in-august-in-feds-preferred-gauge
