US inflation and consumer spending accelerated last month, highlighting steady price pressures and demand that will keep Federal Reserve policy makers tilted toward raising interest rates further.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, one of the Fed‘s preferred inflation gauges, rose a faster-than-expected 0.4% in April, commerce department figures showed on Friday. From a year ago, the measure climbed 4.4%.
Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PCE index increased 0.4% from the prior month and 4.7% from April 2022, also exceeding projections. Consumer spending, adjusted for prices, increased 0.5% after no change in March. The gain was the strongest since the start of the year and reflected pickups in both goods and services.
While inflation has moderated since peaking a year ago, resilient household demand risks keeping price pressures elevated. That’s the challenge facing Fed officials as they debate whether to pause their rate-hike campaign and assess implications of tighter policy on the banking system and economy more broadly.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, one of the Fed‘s preferred inflation gauges, rose a faster-than-expected 0.4% in April, commerce department figures showed on Friday. From a year ago, the measure climbed 4.4%.
Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PCE index increased 0.4% from the prior month and 4.7% from April 2022, also exceeding projections. Consumer spending, adjusted for prices, increased 0.5% after no change in March. The gain was the strongest since the start of the year and reflected pickups in both goods and services.
While inflation has moderated since peaking a year ago, resilient household demand risks keeping price pressures elevated. That’s the challenge facing Fed officials as they debate whether to pause their rate-hike campaign and assess implications of tighter policy on the banking system and economy more broadly.
