Inflation showed more signs of cooling Friday, according to data released by the Commerce Department, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to slow down its interest rate hikes next week.
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The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, was up 5 percent annually in December, down from a 5.5-percent annual inflation rate in November and a nearly 7-percent rate in June of last year.
Taking out the volatile categories of food and energy, core PCE fell to a 4.4-percent annual increase off a recent high of 5.2 percent in September.
The new inflation data comes less than a week before the Fed is expected to issue its smallest interest rate hike since March 2022. The Fed’s monetary policy committee is set to meet from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 in Washington, D.C., and is all but certain to issue its eighth straight rate hike in consecutive meetings.
Sylvan Lane contributed to this developing story
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