Inflation measure closely watched by the Fed rises 2.5% in July

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Penn Mutual Asset Management CIO Mark Heppenstall joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ with his perspective on several U.S. economy headlines.

An inflation measure closely watched by the Federal Reserve inched higher in July as elevated prices continue to weigh on millions of Americans.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.2% from the previous month. On an annual basis, prices climbed 2.5%. Those figures are mostly in line with expectations.

When excluding food and energy prices, which are more volatile, so-called core prices climbed 0.2% for the month and remain up 2.6% when compared with the same time last year.

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While the Fed is targeting the PCE headline figure as it tries to bring consumer prices back to 2%, policymakers view core data as a better indicator of inflation. Both the core and headline numbers point to inflation that is continuing to cool. 

Customers look over food items displayed on Aug. 16, 2024, at a Costco store in Colchester, Vermont.  (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

«Inflation still looks contained, and that’s good news for the economy and for investors looking ahead to lower interest rates,» said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E*Trade.

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Other figures included in the report showed that consumer spending rose 0.5% in July compared with a 0.3% increase in June, as Americans continued to open their wallets. Consumer spending has proven surprisingly resilient, despite high prices, steep interest rates and the resumption of federal student loan payments.

The report also showed that