Jan. 22 (UPI) — Inflation ticked up to 2.8% November, moving further away from the Federal Reserve’s target 2% mark, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports Thursday.
The personal consumption expenditures price index increased by 0.2% in October and again in November. Thursday’s report combined October and November due to the government shutdown delaying both reports.
The price index also increased by 0.2% for both months when excluding food and energy.
While the index increased, those increases in inflation have slowed over the year prior. In October 2024, the price index increased by 2.7%. It increased by 2.8% in November 2024.
Personal incomes increased slightly in October, up 0.1%, and more in November, up by 0.3%. In total, increases in spending outpaced the rate at which people’s incomes grew.
The Dow Jones consensus projected that inflation would reach 2.8% for the month of November. Dow Jones estimated that incomes would grow by about 0.1% more than they did in November.
Expenses continue to outpace disposable personal income for consumers while personal savings continued a seven-month downward trend.
Consumers saved about $844 billion in October, down to $800 billion in November. The percentage of personal income that was put into savings also decreased, from 3.7% of take-home pay in October to 3.5% in November.
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