The Commerce Department on Friday reported that the\u00a0personal consumption expenditures (PCE)<\/a> index rose 0.3% in September from a month ago and is up 2.8% from last year. Those figures were in line with the estimate of LSEG economists.\u00a0<\/p>\n Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.8% year over year. The core monthly figures were in line with expectations, while the year over year figure was slightly cooler.<\/p>\n Federal Reserve policymakers are focusing on the PCE headline figure as they try to bring inflation back to their long-run target of 2%, though they view core data as a better indicator of inflation. Headline PCE was flat at 2.8% from August to September, while core PCE declined slightly from 2.9% to 2.8%.<\/p>\n TRUMP CALLS AFFORDABILITY \u2018A DEMOCRAT SCAM\u2019 AS INFLATION CONCERNS PERSIST NATIONWIDE<\/a><\/p>\n Prices for goods<\/a> were up 1.4% in September from a year ago, an acceleration from the 0.9% reading in August and the 0.6% readings reported in both June and July.\u00a0<\/p>\n Durable goods were up 0.9% from a year ago in September, a slight deceleration from the 1.2% reading in August. Nondurable goods price growth accelerated in September, rising 1.7% compared with last year following a 0.7% reading in August.<\/p>\n Services prices were up 3.4% in September from a year ago, slightly cooler than the 3.6% reported in August.<\/p>\n The personal savings rate<\/a> as a percentage of disposable personal income was 4.7% in September, unchanged from August.<\/p>\n DECEMBER INTEREST RATE CUT IN DOUBT AS FED MINUTES SHOW POLICYMAKERS DIVIDED<\/a><\/p>\n PCE inflation remained near 3% in September in shutdown-delayed Commerce Department report. (\u00a0Stephanie Keith\/Bloomberg via Getty Images \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n “PCE inflation is still running significantly above the Fed’s 2% target, but is no longer accelerating,” said Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “We expect inflation will be stuck at close to 3% over coming quarters. However, once the the one-off boost to goods prices from tariffs falls out of the comparison, underlying trends suggest inflation will moderate close to, but still above, 2% by the end of 2026.”<\/p>\n Policymakers at the Federal Reserve<\/a> are set to announce their next interest rate decision next week, with the market anticipating a 25 basis point rate cut despite inflation remaining elevated.<\/p>\n The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s late October monetary policy meeting showed divisions among policymakers over whether there should be a rate cut at the December meeting amid concerns about a softening labor market and persistent inflation.<\/p>\n FED PRESIDENT EXPLAINS VOTE AGAINST INTEREST RATE CUT<\/a><\/p>\n The Federal Reserve is set to hold a policy meeting to decide whether to cut interest rates next week. (Nathan Howard\/Bloomberg \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n While most participants signaled that further rate cuts would be appropriate to get to a more neutral policy rate over time, several indicated that they didn’t necessarily view another 25 basis point reduction as likely to be appropriate in December.<\/p>\n As of Friday, the CME FedWatch tool showed an 87% chance of the Fed cutting the benchmark federal funds rate 25 basis points to a new range of 3.5% to 3.75%. A month ago, the market projected a 62% chance of a rate cut.<\/p>\n The release of September data was delayed by the federal government shutdown<\/a> that lasted 43 days, the longest in U.S. history.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Shoppers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/generic-costco-shoppers-store-customers.jpg\")
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