One of the US Fed’s favoured measures of inflation is core personal consumption expenditure (PCE). The core version of consumer spending strips out energy and food components, which are volatile from month to month, in an attempt to identify the prevailing trend. It’s not the only measure of inflation used; the Fed also tracks the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) from the Department of Labor.
The latest core PCE figures have been published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis as part of February figures for personal income and expenditures. Seasonally adjusted, personal expenditure rose by 0.2% for the month, compared to January’s revised figure of 0.3%. On an annual basis, core PCE rose by 1.8% which is the same as January’s figure. The numbers were in line with market expectations of 0.2% and 1.7% respectively.
