September 30, 2026. U.S. consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures index rose 0.3% in August from July and 3.4% from August 2025, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday. The measure excluding food and energy rose 0.2% for the month and 3.0% over 12 months. The release covers August activity; it is not a live reading of prices at the end of September.
Spending outpaced income growth
Current-dollar personal consumption expenditures increased $190.8 billion, or 0.9%, in August, while personal income increased $66.6 billion, or 0.2%. Disposable personal income rose 0.3%. Adjusted for inflation, consumer spending rose 0.6%, and real disposable income was unchanged from July. BEA reported a 4.1% personal saving rate. Spending on goods accounted for $114.1 billion of the current-dollar increase and services for $76.7 billion. These are aggregate estimates; they do not imply that every household spent more.
The 0.3% monthly increase in the PCE price index was higher than July’s newly revised 0.1% rise. Reuters reported that August’s annual 3.4% result was below economists’ pre-release expectation of 3.7%. That comparison is with an expectation, not a claim that prices fell: the price level still rose in August.
Why the revisions matter
BEA says the September 30 release includes its annual update of the National Economic Accounts, with revisions to personal income and outlays beginning in January 2021. July’s current-dollar spending increase is now shown as 0.1%. Comparisons with figures published before this update can therefore be misleading unless the revised series is used. Reuters also described changes to the methodology for some price components.
The Federal Reserve watches PCE inflation, but this one release does not determine its next rate decision. The data show what happened to measured prices and spending; possible reasons for the movement require separate evidence. For another current labor-market measure, see AskNovus’s September ADP jobs report. BEA’s next income and outlays release is scheduled for October 29.
Sources: BEA Personal Income and Outlays for August 2026, released September 30, 2026; Reuters report September 30, 2026. Featured image: Fikri Rasyid / Unsplash, illustrative supermarket photograph.
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