When it comes to prices, the Bureau indicated a 0.2 percent decrease in goods compared to May, but this was offset by a 0.2 percent increase in the price of services. As for the more volatile segments, food saw a 0.1 percent increase while energy prices fell by 2.1 percent.
How this will play into next week’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee is unknown. However, the PCE is the favored index for the Federal Reserve as it sets its key policy rates.
The broad consensus is the Fed is unlikely to make a change when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, but as inflation ticks closer to the 2 percent target set by the central bank, analysts suggest the chance of a cut in September has become stronger.
Gold and silver both rose by just over 0.5 percent as of 4 pm EDT, with gold moving to US$2,387 and silver rising to US$27.92. However, silver found resistance at the US$28 level, which it plunged below on Wednesday, July 24.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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