The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index in the United States rose by 2.6% in June compared to the same month last year, surpassing market expectations of 2.5%.
The U.S. Department of Commerce noted on the 31st (local time) that the core PCE price index for June, excluding the volatile energy and food sectors, also increased by 2.8% from the same period last year, exceeding market forecasts of 2.7%.
The May PCE price index and the core PCE price index were both revised upward by 0.1 percentage point.
The PCE price index is a key price indicator that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) considers when making currency policy decisions. The '2%' benchmark that the Fed commonly presents as its inflation target is based on the PCE price index.
While market expectations grew that the PCE price index would get closer to the Fed's inflation target after falling to 2.2% in April, it has shown an upward trend again, rising from 2.4% in May to 2.6% in June.