US consumer spending drop in May

The PCE-based Ecumenical Underlying Inflation measure was 2.6% in May, much higher than the CPI based one. Pretty much all the measures agree--the last three months have been very tame but everything before that was not. pic.x.com/SGeZC7Mwok

A combination of weaker activity and stubborn inflation is the message from today's US data so far. Monthly growth for both personal income and spending was negative in May, and below the consensus forecasts. Core inflation was slightly above the consensus forecasts for both the

The Cleveland Fed's calculation of the median PCE inflation rate for May was +0.22%, which annualizes to 2.6%. This was the lowest since July 2024. The 12-month reading was 3%, little changed from recent months. pic.x.com/xymIsvPuS9

Core PCE inflation was +0.18% in May. 12-month core prices rose 2.7% from 2.6% in April (and April was revised up from an initially reported 2.5%). Headline prices rose 0.14% in May. The 12-month reading ticked up to 2.3% (from 2.2% in April, revised up from 2.1%) pic.x.com/viQeYrI5Rl