U.S. August PCE inflation rises 3.4%, below market expectations

The U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for August rose 3.4% from a year earlier, missing market expectations. As the Federal Reserve's key gauge for assessing inflation came in lower than expected, attention is growing on the inflation trend. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the PCE price index for August rose 0.3% from the previous month. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.0% from a year earlier and 0.2% from the previous month, also falling short of market forecasts. In the same month, personal consumption expenditures increased 0.9% from the previous month, while personal income rose only 0.2%. As spending is increasing faster than income, some interpret that it is still difficult to say price pressures have been fully eased.