By Matt Grossman
Monthly price increases as measured by the Fed's preferred gauge were persistent in February, the Commerce Department said Thursday, showing that inflation remained elevated even before the Iran war began last month.
-- The personal-consumption expenditures price index rose by 0.4% in February, up from a 0.3% increase in January.
-- Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the monthly increase in the core version of the index was also 0.4%, in line with analysts' expectations.
-- The 12-month PCE inflation rate held steady at 2.8%.
-- The core annual rate ticked down to 3%, from 3.1%.
The Federal Reserve aims for 2% PCE inflation, a target that has been exceeded for about five years. Evidence of how persistent inflation has frustrated the Fed was on view in the written record of the central bank's March meeting released on Wednesday, which showed that amid the Iran war, policymakers were concerned that inflation might take longer to tame.
Thursday's figures from the Commerce Department also showed a downturn in Americans' personal incomes, which declined by 0.1% month over month, below the 0.3% increase economists had expected. Personal spending showed solid growth, growing by 0.5% month over month.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 09, 2026 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)
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