The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index rose 0.1% last month after remaining unchanged in May, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. In the 12 months through June, the PCE price index rose 2.5% after a 2.6% rise in May.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the personal consumption price index rose 0.2% last month, following an unrevised 0.1% increase in May.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast both monthly headline inflation and core inflation would rise 0.1% in June.
Following the data from the Gross domestic product Thursday, which showed core inflation rose slightly faster than expected in the second quarter, some raised their estimate for the core PCE price index to 0.2%. Forecasts for overall PCE inflation were left broadly unchanged.
Overall, price pressures are easing and could help give Fed officials, who meet next week, more confidence that inflation is moving closer to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target. The Fed follows the PCE price measures for monetary policy.
