Fed's favored inflation gauge showed prices pulled back in June

Commerce Department releases closely watched June 2026 PCE inflation data

This story about the June 2026 PCE inflation report will be updated with more details.

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge fell in June, as the pace of price growth pulled back amid volatility in energy markets.

The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index declined 0.1% on a monthly basis in June and was up 3.7% from a year ago. Both figures were in line with the expectations of economists polled by LSEG.

Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.1% on a monthly basis and 3.3% from a year ago. The monthly figure was cooler than the 0.2% predicted by the LSEG poll of economists, while the annual figure was in line with expectations.

FED POLICYMAKERS LEAVE RATES UNCHANGED AMID ELEVATED UNCERTAINTY

Federal Reserve policymakers are focused on the PCE headline figure as they try to bring inflation back to their long-run target of 2%, though they view core data as a better indicator of inflation. Compared with May's readings, headline PCE declined from 4.1% to 3.7%, while core PCE fell from 3.4% to 3.3%.

Goods prices were up 3% in June compared with one year ago, while they were up 0.7% from the prior month.

Services prices rose 2.3% from a year ago, while they rose 0.3% on a monthly basis.

US ECONOMIC GROWTH SLOWS UNEXPECTEDLY IN SECOND QUARTER

The personal savings rate as a percentage of disposable personal income was 2.7% in June, down slightly from 2.8% in May.

Since the start of 2025, the personal savings rate has declined from a peak of 5.5% in April 2025, and it began this year at 4.4%.