Benzinga - by Piero Cingari, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation – the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index – matched expectations in January, underscoring progress in the path to the 2% inflation target.
Ahead of the release, traders had been leaning towards the likelihood of a Fed rate cut by the end of the first half.
January’s PCE Report: Key Highlights
| PCE Inflation (Year-on-Year) | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.4% |
| PCE Inflation (Month-over-Month) | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Core PCE Inflation (Year-on-Year) | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| Core PCE Inflation (Month-over-Month) | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
- The annual PCE inflation rate eased slightly from 2.6% in December 2023 to 2.4% in January 2024, matching the anticipated decline to 2.4%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) report released Thursday.
- On a monthly basis, the PCE price index edged up by 0.3%, picking up pace from the previous month’s 0.2% increase and meeting expectations.
- Excluding energy and food, the core PCE index saw a year-on-year surge of 2.8%, down from the 2.9% rate seen December and in line with the expected decrease to 2.8%.
- Month-over-month, the core PCE rose by 0.4%, accelerating from December’s 0.2% pace and matching the anticipated 0.4%.
- Simultaneously, personal income saw a 1% increase in January, significantly higher than previous month’s 0.3% print, well above expectations of 0.4%.
- However, personal spending only inched up by 0.2% month-over-month, marking a slowdown from the previous month’s 0.7% increase, and matching expectations.
- Weekly jobless claims inched higher from 202,000 to 215,000 for the week ending Feb. 24, slightly above the expected 210,000.
The U.S. dollar index (DXY), as tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF (NYSE:UUP), inched lower.
Read now: Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Signal Uncertainty Before Crucial Inflation Data While Bitcoin Rallies On: Why This Analyst Models Solid Gains This Year
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.