by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
December, prior months revised higher. Goods prices jump month-to-month by most since August 2023, turn positive for first time in a year.
The inflation measure released today – the PCE price index favored by the Fed as yardstick for its inflation target – jumped by 0.33% in January from December, or by 4.0% annualized, the worst month-to-month increase since March 2024. And this was on top of the upwardly revised December increase.
So, the 3-month PCE price index accelerated to +2.94% annualized, the worst increase since April 2024. The low point of the three-month index was in July (+1.6% annualized), and it has been accelerating ever since. The chart shows the month-to-month changes (blue) and the three-month changes (red), all annualized.