US February PCE Preview: May still be at uncomfortably high levels

Agency previews U.S. PCE data for February: The Fed's favored measure of underlying U.S. inflation may remain at uncomfortably high levels in February, showing why Fed officials are wary of cutting interest rates prematurely. Core PCE is expected to rise 0.3% after posting its biggest monthly gain in a year. Overall PCE is expected to rise 0.4%, the highest level since September last year. That would bring core PCE annualized growth over the past three months to the highest level since last May. In addition, some economists expect January's data to be revised upward. This is in stark contrast to late 2023, when inflation showed signs of falling back toward the Fed's 2% target.