Dec. 20 (UPI) — The Personal Consumption Expenditures index climbed by 0.1% in November on a month-over-month basis, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a statement Friday.
Inflation increased by 2.4% on a year-over-year basis in November according to the PCE index, which is the U.S. Federal Reserve‘s preferred metric to gauge inflation.
The annual 2.4% rate was slightly below a 2.5% Dow Jones prediction but above of the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal.
Core inflation also increased by 0.1% month-over-month in November and 2.8% over the same month last year. The metric subtracts highly-volatile food and energy prices from the PCE index.
Both measurements were 0.1% above Dow Jones estimates.
Overall, personal consumption in the United States increased by $81.3 billion in November, according to the BEA. Of that figure, $48.3 billion was spent on goods, led by new vehicle purchases and recreational goods like audio and visual equipment.
The remaining $33 billion increase was allocated to services, which was primarily made up of financial service charges like credit cards, as well as sports and recreational club membership fees. Gambling was also a major expenditure among the personal consumption increase in spending in the services sector.
Inflation grew by 0.2% in October month-over-month, and 2.3% on an annual basis, both in line with Dow Jones predictions.
Friday’s numbers come two days after the Fed released its latest interest rate numbers.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced a 2.5% reduction of the key lending rate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average responded by falling by 1,000 points, the stock market index’s 10th consecutive day in the red.