Aggressive interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve during 2022 seem to be having their consequence. In line with the Dow Jones estimate, the core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) for December, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, increased 4.4% from a year ago, down from the 4.7% reading in November. That was the slowest annual rate of increase since October 2021.
However, the Central Bank’s fight against stubbornly high inflation with interest rate hikes isn’t sans its unintended consequences and collateral damage. Consumer spending during the holiday month registered a 0.2% decline, missing the modest Street estimates of 0.1%.
