US personal spending rises in August, core PCE prices undershoot slightly

American consumers continued spending at a steady clip last month with price pressures continuing to ebb alongside.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in August personal incomes and spending both increased by 0.4% month-on-month.

Economists had penciled increases of 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.

The price deflator for personal consumption expenditures meanwhile jumped by 0.4% on the month and the year-on-year rate ticked up by one tenth of a percentage point to 3.5% (consensus: 3.5%).

However, the reading on the latter for July had been revised up from 3.3% to 3.4%.

At the core level on the other hand, which excludes food and energy, core PCE prices were ahead by 0.1% on the month (consensus: 0.2%) and the annual rate of increase slowed from 4.3% to 3.9%.

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