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The numbers: The cost of goods and services rose a higher-than-expected 0.4% in September, keeping the pressure on the Federal Reserve as it weighs whether to raise interest rates again.
The increase in the so-called PCE price index over the past year was unchanged at 3.4%, the government said Friday, leaving it will above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The PCE price gauge is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.
The core PCE rate of inflation increased a touch slower last month at 0.3%. That matched the forecast of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
The core rate omits volatile food and energy costs and is viewed by the Fed as a better predictor of future inflation trends.
The rate of core inflation over the past year fell a tick to 3.7% from 3.8%, marking the lowest level since June 2021.
The increase in inflation last month is unlikely to force the Fed to raise interest rates when senior officials meet next week, economists and investors believe. Wall Street widely expects the Fed to leave rates unchanged.
Big picture: The worst bout of inflation in 40 years is slowly receding, but it still could be a few years before prices return to low pre-pandemic levels.
The Fed is trying to get inflation down to its 2% target, a goal it doesn’t expect to reach until late 2025 or early 2026. The central bank has jacked up interest rates to the highest level in years to try to tame prices.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
and S&P 500
SPX,
were set to open mixed in Friday trades.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y,
edged up to 4.88%.
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