Personal income decreased $109.6 billion (0.4 percent at a monthly rate) in May, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI)—personal income less personal current taxes—decreased $125.0 billion (0.6 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $29.3 billion (0.1 percent). Personal outlays—the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—decreased $27.6 billion in May. Personal saving was $1.01 trillion in May and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal ... (full story)

Prices that consumers pay rose slightly in May, while the annual inflation rate moved further away from the Federal Reserve’s target, according to a Commerce Department report Friday. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s primary inflation reading, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.3%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective levels of 0.1% and 2.3%. Excluding food and energy, core PCE posted respective readings of 0.2% and 2.7%, compared to estimates for 0.1% and 2.6%. Fed policymakers consider core to be a better ... (full story)