The Federal Reserve’s preferred measurement of inflation continued to cool off in November, providing yet another welcome indication that this period of painfully high prices has peaked
. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, or PCE, rose 5.5% in November from a year earlier and 0.1% from October, the Commerce Department reported Friday. In October, prices rose 6.1% annually. Core PCE, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, was up 4.7% annually and 0.2% on a monthly basis. The annual increases for both PCE inflation indexes hit their lowest levels since October 2021.
PCE, specifically the core measurement, is the Fed’s favored inflation gauge, since it provides a more complete picture of costs for consumers. Economists polled by Refinitiv were anticipating core PCE to climb 4.7% from November 2021 and 0.2% from the month before. Friday’s report also showed that spending continued to rise in November, but at a much slower pace than in previous months. Spending was up 0.1% in November as compared to 0.8% the month before. Personal income increased by 0.