US PCE price index · November 2026

US PCE price index · November 2026 is scheduled for Friday 20 December 2026 at 08:30 ET. The data covers October 2026. The next release in the series is expected on November 2026 PCE · late January 2027.

Headline PCE deflator: The all-items PCE price index year-on-year change — covers a broader scope than CPI, including healthcare paid by employers and Medicare. Core PCE deflator: PCE excluding food and energy — the Fed's 2% target measure. This is the number financial markets focus on most. Personal income and spending: The PCE release also includes real personal income and real consumer spending data — providing context for whether inflation is demand-driven. PCE component breakdown: Services vs goods split, durable vs non-durable goods, individual service categories — all available in BEA Table 2.4.4. For detailed definitions of each measure, see the IMF inflation methodology.

Focus on core PCE, not headline — The Fed's 2% target is core PCE. Headline PCE is interesting but not what the FOMC uses to assess progress. Core PCE at 2.7% means the Fed is still not at target. Compare core PCE to core CPI — Core PCE almost always runs 0.3–0.5 pp below core CPI because of different weights (more healthcare in PCE, less shelter) and chain-weighting vs fixed basket. If PCE is falling faster than CPI, the Fed may be closer to its goal than CPI alone suggests. Read the spending data alongside the prices — Strong real consumer spending with stubborn PCE inflation is worrying (demand-pull). Weak spending with sticky PCE suggests supply-side or structural persistence. The spending figure changes the narrative. For a deeper explanation of how consumer price indices are constructed, the IMF's primer on inflation is a reliable starting point.

The official source is Online · bea.gov. Times shown are in ET — see the time-zone table on this page for your local equivalent. The Federal Reserve's economic data page and ECB statistics portal also carry same-day updates.

Going into this release: Core PCE, Sep 2026 was 2.7% (Fed's preferred measure); Headline PCE, Sep 2026 was 2.4% (Including food & energy); Fed funds target was 4.75–5.00% (As of December 2026); Real fed funds rate was ~2.1% (Meaningfully restrictive). Historical releases and revisions are archived in the World Bank WDI inflation series.