US inflation picks up again in September with core prices up three point one percent

US consumer prices rose faster in September. The price index for personal consumption expenditures, the PCE index, climbed half a percent in the month and three point six percent on the year. Core prices, without food and energy, rose three point one percent on the year. That is up from three percent in August. It is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, and it stays well above the Fed's two percent target.

Personal income grew only 0.2 percent in September while spending rose 0.5 percent, so the saving rate slipped to 3.8 percent. The data came a day after the Fed left its rates unchanged. It makes a quick return to target less likely and supports the case for keeping policy tight for longer.