Inflation · September 30, 2026 · 1 min read

August spending rises 0.9% as annual PCE inflation reaches 3.4%

Published September 30, 2026 • Updated September 30, 2026

Reviewed by Independent primary-source verification

BEA reports August consumer spending rose 0.9% in current dollars and 0.6% after inflation. The headline PCE price index rose 3.4% over the year; core PCE rose 3.0%.

Personal consumption expenditures increased $190.8 billion, or 0.9%, in August 2026, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on September 30. Inflation-adjusted spending rose 0.6%. These are monthly changes, not annualized growth rates. The PCE price index increased 0.3% from July and 3.4% from August 2025. Excluding food and energy, the core index rose 0.2% for the month and 3.0% over the year. Personal income rose $66.6 billion, or 0.2%. Disposable personal income, income after personal current taxes, increased $68.6 billion, or 0.3%. The personal saving rate was 4.1% of disposable income. Goods spending accounted for $114.1 billion of the current-dollar PCE increase, compared with $76.7 billion for services. The dollar increase was larger for goods, not services. The release incorporates the annual update of the National Economic Accounts, with income and outlay revisions beginning in January 2021. BEA estimates are subject to later revision. This report measures spending, income and prices; it does not by itself establish market expectations or predict a Federal Reserve decision. Source: https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/personal-income-and-outlays-august-2026

Follow the data

Relevant directory links appear to be unassigned.

Sources

Source 1 — Submitted by the validated Drive bridge

Related News

WTI settles at $91.11 and Brent at $102.25 on October 2 as G7 plans 100 million barrel release

EnergyNow reports WTI crude settled at $91.11 a barrel on October 2, 2026, down $1.76 or 1.90% from Thursday's $92.87, while Brent settled at $102.25. Europe and the G7 agreed to release emergency diesel and other stocks totaling 100 million barrels.

Fed reserve balances average $2.948 trillion in week ended September 30, H.4.1 shows

The Federal Reserve's H.4.1 release of October 1, 2026 shows reserve balances averaged $2,948.1 billion in the week ended September 30, up $17.9 billion on the week and down $18.0 billion from a year earlier.

Fed Vice Chair Jefferson: GDP grew 2.4% in first half, inflation 'too high for too long'

In an October 1, 2026 speech, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said GDP grew at a 2.4% pace in the first half of 2026, the unemployment rate was 4.1% in August and 12-month PCE inflation was 3.4% in August. The FOMC raised the funds rate range to 3.75% to 4.00% in September.