The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its latest batch of economic data showing the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 3.7% year-over-year in July. That matched June’s reading and came in above the 3.6% economists had penciled in.
The numbers behind the stubbornness
Core PCE, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, held steady at 3.3% on an annual basis.
Inflation has now exceeded the Fed’s 2% target for 65 consecutive months.
The Consumer Price Index, a separate but related measure, offered a small consolation. CPI came in at 3.4% year-over-year in July, ticking down from 3.5% in June.
