Inflation was stuck at 3% before the Iran war, a key Fed gauge shows

The PCE release points to stubborn inflation at the end of February, before the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran sent oil prices soaring

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Consumers spent $103.2 billion more in February than the prior month, a 0.5% gain, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday, while household income slipped by $18.2 billion, or 0.1%. On a year-over-year basis, the overall PCE inflation index rose 2.8% compared to February 2025, while the core measure, which strips out food and energy and is watched closely by the Federal Reserve, climbed 3.0%.

Both the headline and core indexes grew 0.4% compared with January, pointing to........

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