Price Stability Settling In

U.S. inflation edged up slightly in July, according to a measure that’s favored by the Federal Reserve it prepares to enact its first interest rate reduction in more than four years, CNBC reports.

The latest core personal consumption expenditures report from the Commerce Department showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.2% on the month and was up 2.5% from the same period a year ago.

The report also showed that personal income increased 0.3% in July, slightly higher than the 0.2% estimate, while consumer spending rose 0.5%, in line with expectations.

Fed officials tend to focus more on the core reading as a better gauge of long-run trends, CNBC notes. Both core and headline inflation on a 12-month basis were the same as in June.

The data “points to the re-establishment of price stability across the American economy,” wrote Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, CNBC reported.

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