Core inflation rate hit 3.2% in March; GDP grew 2% in first quarter; jobless claims lowest since 1969

[progree]

1. GRAPHS, PCE Inflation, added the table and the source links

Horizontal red lines drawn at the Fed's 2% target

PCE March +0.7%;; 12 months: 3.5%
CORE PCE: +0.3%;; 12 months: 3.2%,
4/30/26
SOURCE URLS: 4/30/26 release: https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income
. . . CURRENT RELEASE - https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/personal-income-and-outlays-march-2026
. . . FULL RELEASE: https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2026-04/pi0326.pdf
. . . PCE DATA SERIES: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCEPI
. . . CORE PCE DATA SERIES: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/data/PCEPILFE

Percent increases, seasonally adjusted numbers, ANNUALIZED, over the past month, the past 3 months, and the past 12 months

1 mo 3 mo 12mo
---- ---- ----
8.2% 5.6% 3.5% Regular PCE (includes food & energy)
3.6% 3.3% 3.2% Core PCE (does not have food nor energy

2.0% 2.0% 2.0% Federal Reserve Target

REGULAR "ALL ITEMS" PCE


CORE PCE (Does Not Include Food Nor Energy)


(These are calculated using the actual index values, as are my graphs)

As usual, I prefer to present annualized figures so they can be compared to the Fed's target and to different-length time periods

The CORE PCE is the Federal Reserve's favorite gauge for forecasting FUTURE inflation.