Investopedia survey: US core PCE index to rise 0.1% in May

According to forecasts by experts surveyed by Investopedia, the US core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy, is expected to have risen by 0.1% month-over-month in May. The annual rate is anticipated at 2.6%, slightly above April’s 2.5%. 

The core PCE is especially important because the Fed uses it as a key benchmark to measure progress toward its 2% inflation target.

Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect the headline PCE index to rise 0.1% month-on-month in May, with the annual rate projected to hold at 2.3%.

The May PCE index data in the US may signal slowing inflation in the country, despite the administration's import tariffs on key trading partners. Economists at The Wall Street Journal believe Donald Trump's duties could exert upward pressure on prices as early as this summer.

However, the relatively low inflation figures in the US are unlikely to reassure Federal Reserve officials. Last week, the American regulator kept interest rates unchanged, citing risks of rising consumer prices in the country due to Trump’s trade policies.