Inflation & Prices
Key US Inflation Gauge Seen Slowing But Leaving Fed Wanting More
- Annual PCE prices expected to hit slowest pace since late 2021
- Data to support smaller rate hikes but not enough to pause
Shoppers at a mall in San Francisco.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauges probably cooled in December to the slowest paces in more than a year, reinforcing a step down in the pace of interest-rate hikes but likely not enough for officials to discuss a pause.
Economists project a 5% annual increase in the personal consumption expenditures price index due Friday, and a 4.4% rise in the core metric, which excludes food and energy. Both would be the smallest advances since late 2021, and estimates for monthly changes also point to moderation compared with earlier last year.