US inflation remained stubborn last month as Iran war continued to lift prices

Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge remained elevated in August, underscoring the persistence of above-normal price increases, new data showed Wednesday.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 0.3% from July, bringing the annual rate to 3.4%, unchanged from the month before, according to new data from the Commerce Department.

Inflation picked up on a monthly basis as fuel and other energy prices shot higher as a result of the war in Iran.

Economists were expecting the PCE price index to increase 0.4% from the prior month, with the annual rate holding steady at 3.7%, according to FactSet estimates.

The August report was expected to show some cooling in inflation because of some methodological changes the Commerce Department made to several key categories.

Every year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis updates its massive repository of national, industry and regional data to incorporate newly available statistics and more accurately capture changes in prices.

Economists estimate that the changes could lower the annual PCE inflation rate by a couple of percentage points.

This story is developing and will be updated.

安吉拉·韦斯/法新社/盖蒂图片社

周三公布的新数据显示，美联储首选的通胀指标在8月份仍然居高不下，凸显出高于正常水平的价格上涨持续存在。

根据商务部最新数据，7月份个人消费支出价格指数环比上涨0.3%，年化率为3.4%，与上月持平。

受伊朗战争影响，燃料和其他能源价格飙升，通货膨胀率逐月上升。

根据 FactSet 的估计，经济学家预计个人消费支出价格指数将比上月上涨 0.4%，年化增长率将保持在 3.7% 不变。

由于商务部对几个关键类别进行了一些方法论上的调整，预计8月份的报告将显示通胀有所降温。

美国经济分析局每年都会更新其庞大的国家、行业和地区数据存储库，以纳入新近可用的统计数据，并更准确地捕捉价格变化。

经济学家估计，这些变化可能会使年度个人消费支出通胀率降低几个百分点。

此事件仍在发展中，我们将持续更新报道。