The Federal Reserve is meeting this week to decide on its latest interest rate hike, and one of the big questions going into the meeting is how the nation's top bankers are thinking about inflation. 

The latest numbers from the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, which is the Fed's preferred measure, show prices increasing 0.1 percent month-over-month in December. 

This compares to the latest consumer price index, which showed prices falling 0.1 percent. 

Excluding volatile energy and food prices, the PCE measure is up at a slightly higher rate of  0.3 percent — though the index overall is at a 15-month low. 

"It all adds up to a real break for consumers, real breathing room for families, and more proof that my economic plan is working," said President Joe Biden earlier this month. 

Yet whether or not the recent price moderation is enough for the Fed to go ahead with a 25-basis-point rate hike as expected won't be clear until the FOMC meeting on Wednesday.

Share:
More In Business
Ford Cuts Production of F-150 Lightning Electric Truck
Ford says it’s reducing production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup vehicle as it adjusts to weaker-than-expected electric vehicle sales growth. The automaker said about 1,400 workers will be impacted by the move.
Apple Overtakes Samsung as Top Seller of Smartphones
Dan Ives, Managing Director and Senior Equity Analyst at Wedbush Securities dives deeper into a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) that Apple has ended Samsung's 12-year reign as the world's largest smartphone seller.
AI is the Big Opportunity and the Risk to Watch at Davos
Artificial intelligence is the biggest buzzword at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Advances in generative AI stunned the world last year, and the elite crowd is angling to take advantage of its promise and minimize its risks.
A Smarter Smart Phone?
Smartphones could get much smarter this year as the next wave of artificial intelligence seeps into the devices that accompany people almost everywhere they go.
Who Could Be The World's First Trillionaire?
In an annual assessment of global inequalities, Oxfam International said the first trillionaire could emerge within the next decade — as the anti-poverty organization pointed to the growing wealth gap that skyrocketed globally during the pandemic.
Load More