(The Center Square) – Newly released federal inflation data shows that inflation rose slightly in November.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its Personal Consumption Expenditure Index Friday, a key inflation marker, which showed a 0.1% increase in November, contributing to a 5.5% increase from the same time last year.
“Prices for goods decreased 0.4% and prices for services increased 0.4%. Food prices increased 0.3% and energy prices decreased 1.5%,” the group said. “Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.2%.”
This increase is lower than the rapid increases we have seen in the last couple of years.
The data comes after the Federal Reserve announced earlier this month their seventh rate hike this year in an aggressive effort to rein in inflation.
“The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation continues to go down, which is good news for their most important objective, but unfortunately for the market, it is happening at the same time as consumers continue to reduce their spending,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of the Independent Advisor Alliance.
“At this point, the market has been backed into a corner, since more robust spending and higher growth is indirectly bad for the stock market (because it is likely to trigger an even stronger hawkish reaction from the Fed), while slower spending and growth is directly bad for the stock market, because it implies lower corporate earnings.”
Americans also saw an increase in income, with personal income increasing $80.1 billion, or 0.4%.
“Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $68.6 billion (0.4%) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $19.8 billion (0.1%),” the group said.
“The increase in current-dollar personal income in November primarily reflected increases in compensation and personal income receipts on assets. The increase in compensation reflected increases in private wages and salaries in both services-producing industries and goods-producing industries.”
