Oct. 28 (UPI) — Personal consumption expenditures, a key measure of inflation, continued to rise in September and wages also climbed, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.
The BEA released its personal income and outlays report for September, which shows the personal consumption expenditures index, which measures prices consumers paid for goods and services, rose by 0.3% over August and 6.2% from a year ago.
The price of goods decreased 0.1%, reflecting a 2.4% decrease in energy prices, while services increased by 0.6% for the month. Food prices continued to increase, rising by 0.6% in September.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and fuel, rose by 0.5% over August and 5.1% from a year ago, slightly below the Dow Jones estimate of 5.2%.
Personal income increased by 0.4%, a total of $78.9 billion, and disposable income increased by 0.4%, or $71.3 billion. Increases in private wages and salaries led the uptick, BEA said.
President Joe Biden said his administration’s economic plan is showing progress after seeing the results of the BEA report Friday.
The president feels headway is being made toward his goals, according to a statement released by the White House. Those goals include higher incomes, slowing inflation and economic growth, which the report reflects. The BEA report is a key measuring stick for the Federal Reserve.
“We have more work to do,” Biden said in the statement. “My plan will bring down prescription drug prices and energy costs starting next year. In January, seniors will see their Social Security checks increase by an average of $140 a month even as their Medicare premiums go down — the first time in a decade that has happened. Also starting in January, billion dollar companies will face a new requirement that they must pay taxes.”
Spending saw an increase, up $94.7 billion for services and $18.3 billion for goods. The leading services to generate the increase were utilities and housing. Prescription drug costs helped drive the increase in spending on goods. Vehicle costs were the next biggest factor.
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce another interest rate increase in the next week. It would be the sixth rate hike this year. This has been used as a tool to rein in inflation.
