Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) prices in the United States rose 0.3% month-over-month in May, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Thursday.
The figure matched consensus expectations, signaling that underlying inflationary pressures remain persistent despite the Federal Reserve’s ongoing monetary tightening cycle.
3% print, meaning the data itself offered little surprise to traders who had already priced in a gradual normalization of policy.
The headline PCE price index also increased 0.3% for the month, consistent with the core reading.
This stability in the Fed’s preferred inflation metric suggests that the disinflation process has slowed, complicating the central bank’s path toward returning inflation to its 2% target.
Markets had widely anticipated the 0.3% print, meaning the data itself offered little surprise to traders who had already priced in a gradual normalization of policy.
The May release follows an April reading where core PCE inflation held steady at 3.3% on an annual basis.