The U.S.'s core personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the Federal Reserve's favored measure of inflation, was up 1.8% year over year in August, compared with an upwardly revised 1.7% reading in July, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed.
The consensus estimate of economists polled by Econoday was for 1.8% year-over-year growth.
The headline PCE price index was up 1.4% year over year in August, unchanged since July.
On a monthly basis, the core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy, edged 0.1% higher in August after a 0.2% uptick in the preceding month.
The headline PCE price index was also flat month over month in August, at 0.2%.
The Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points Sept. 18, easing its monetary policy for the second time this year with a view to staving off worries about a potential national economic slowdown. The median projection from Fed officials from earlier in September suggests they view core PCE ending the year at 1.8% and returning to 2% in 2021.
Meanwhile, current-dollar personal income grew 0.4% on a monthly basis in August after a 0.1% increase in July.
Personal outlays increased $22.3 billion, while personal savings stood at $1.35 trillion in August.
