Inflation notches a fresh 30-year high as measured by the Fed’s favorite gauge

[superadmin]

• Headline inflation, including food and energy, rose at a 4.4% annual rate in September, the fastest since 1991.
  
• Core inflation, which is the Fed’s preferred gauge, increased 3.6% for the 12 months, the same as in August but still also the fastest pace in 30 years.
  
• Personal income declined at a faster pace than expected while consumer spending increased and was in line with forecasts.
  
• Employment costs rose more than expected and at the fastest annual pace in 19 years.
  

Annual inflation rose at its fastest pace in more than 30 years during September despite a decline in personal income, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Headline price pressures as gauged by the personal consumption expenditures price index including food and energy increased 0.3% for the month, pushing the year-over-year gain to 4.4%. That’s the fastest pace since January 1991.

Stripping out food and energy costs, inflation rose 0.2% for the month, in line with the Dow Jones estimate, and 3.6% for the 12-month period, unchanged from August but good for the highest since May 1991. The Federal Reserve prioritizes the so-called core PCE reading among a battery of measures it uses for inflation.

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