Nick Timiraos, chief economics correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, posted on X on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, that the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report offered little new insight into the inflation trend. Timiraos stated, "The long and short of the PCE report is that it doesn't much change the trend relative to what was already known (ie. are price pressures actually easing, or did the way prices are measured change). June and July were good, but that was already known. August showed that didn't continue, which was already evident after the PPI and CPI numbers came out. Market-based prices are running around 3%, before and after the measurement changes. The 12-month reading looks less unfavorable, but still, no progress towards 2% since April 2025."
Recent Gokhshtein coverage indicated that inflation eased in August, leading to increased odds for a Federal Reserve rate hike in December. Other reports from ZeroHedge and Kobeissi Letter also noted that August Core PCE inflation was cooler than expected. Global bond yields recently hit a 19-year peak, driven by third-quarter inflation concerns.
Timiraos's view suggests that despite the seemingly positive August figures, the underlying trend of price pressures remains elevated. His analysis implies that the market should not interpret the latest PCE data as a significant step towards the Federal Reserve's long-term 2% inflation target, highlighting a persistent challenge for policymakers.
