US Producer Price Index Report Shows Moderate Inflation in September 2024
September PCE price index rose 0.3% month-on-month, lifting annual inflation to 2.8%, while core PCE eased to 2.8%; delayed data complicates Federal Reserve policy assessment.
Fact Check
The evidence strongly supports the statement. The Producer Price Index (PPI) is a monthly report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The most authoritative sources, the BLS release schedules and the FRED economic calendar, would establish the date of the 'upcoming' report. The key to verifying the statement is explaining the gap in releases between September 10 and the upcoming report. The BLS notice regarding a '2025 lapse' provides this crucial context, explaining a disruption in the normal monthly release schedule. This notice directly supports the idea that a release (which would have normally occurred in October) was missed. Therefore, if the last report was released on or around September 10, and the October release was skipped due to the lapse, the upcoming November report would indeed be the first one since September. The combination of the official schedule confirming the next release and the official notice explaining the gap makes the statement highly credible. The irrelevant sources concerning UK/EU data or different US economic reports do not contradict this finding.
Summary
The US Commerce Department reported that the September Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased by 0.3% from the previous month, raising the annual inflation rate to 2.8% from 2.7%. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, fell to 2.8% year-over-year from 2.9%. The release delay means the Federal Reserve will evaluate monetary policy with outdated inflation data in its upcoming meeting.
Terms & Concepts
- Core PCE: The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index excluding food and energy, a key measure of underlying inflation used by the Federal Reserve.