By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation outran expectations again in August, keeping up the pressure on the central bank to continue tightening monetary policy.
The core price index for personal consumer expenditures, which is a more accurate reflection of the actual spending patterns of U.S. consumers than the Consumer Price Index, rose 0.6% on the month, after rising only 0.1% in July. Analysts had expected an increase of 0.5%.
Stripping out food and energy, core PCE inflation rose to 4.9% on the year, from an upwardly-revised 4.7% in July.
Overall PCE inflation rose more gently, by only 0.3%, owing largely to the steady decline in gasoline prices through the month.