https://www.live-feeds.com/feed/fed-s-preferred-measure-of-inflation-dips-to-3-4-percent-in-augustContinuously updated, source-cited coverage. https://www.live-feeds.com/feed/fed-s-preferred-measure-of-inflation-dips-to-3-4-percent-in-augusthttps://www.live-feeds.com/feed/fed-s-preferred-measure-of-inflation-dips-to-3-4-percent-in-august#u101102Mon, 05 Oct 2026 03:05:52 +0000The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, fell to 3.4 percent year-over-year in August. Core inflation dropped to 3.0 percent, a reading that was lighter than expected. The index rose 0.3 percent from July to August. This cooling trend reduces the urgency for additional interest rate hikes. However, some data indicates inflation remained stubborn due to the Iran war, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis updated its methodology for measuring software and legal services prices, which contributed to the improvement.Why it matters