Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell explains how policymakers work to determine whether tariffs are already contributing to sustained inflation.
The Federal Reserve's priority inflation gauge showed prices rose in February at a pace that continued to surpass central bank target levels amid ongoing efforts to deprive inflation.
On Friday, the Commerce Department reported that the Personal Consumption Expense Index (PCE) rose 0.3% from the previous month, up 2.5% per year. These numbers were consistent with the estimates of economists voted by the LSEG.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.4% and 2.8% from a month ago, slightly higher than estimates of 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively.
Federal Reserve policymakers see core data as a better indicator of inflation, but they focus on PCE headline diagrams as they try to direct the pace of price rise to a 2% target. Headline PCE has not changed at 2.5% since January, but Core PCE is up from 2.6% last month.
Product prices rose 0.4% per year in February, slower than the 0.6% reported in January. Prices for the service rose 1% in February, slightly slower than the 1.6% annual growth reported last month.
Wages and salaries increased by 0.4% per month in February, up from 0.2% a month ago.
Personal savings rate as a percentage of disposable income was 4.6% in February, up from 4.3% last month, up from 3.3% in the second half of 2025 to the 4.3% range.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
