PCE: Fed's choice inflation gauge rises to 3.2% for March
by Joe Fisher · UPIApril 30 (UPI) -- The personal consumption expenditures index increased by 3.5% on an annual basis in March, the highest level since 2023.
For the month prices were up 0.7%, driven by rising gas prices that have surpassed $4 per gallon on average in the United States, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.
Core prices minus volatile food and energy increased by 3.2% in March, up from 3% in February.
Since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, oil prices have increased more than 50% and gas prices are up more than 40%.
Consumer spending on gasoline and other energy goods had the most dramatic change in March, outpacing health care nearly four times over. Consumers spent about $81.3 billion more on gas and energy, contributing to the $195.4 billion increase in consumer spending.
The rise in inflation met economic forecasts but first quarter economic growth underwhelmed. Gross domestic product notched a 2% seasonally adjusted gain, falling short of the Dow Jones Consensus forecast 2.2%.
The personal consumption expenditures index is the preferred economic marker used by the Federal Reserve when it decides monetary policy. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee announced it is holding its target interest rate at a 3.5% to 3.75% range for the third consecutive time this year.
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Artemis II pilot Victor Glover (L) and mission specialist Christina Koch meet with President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Graeme Sloan/UPI | License Photo