Inflation bellwether

The Commerce Department on Friday delivers its February snapshot of U.S. consumer spending and inflation.

The personal consumption expenditure price index, a gauge of inflation that’s closely monitored by the Fed, rose 0.6% from December to January, up sharply from a 0.2% increase from November to December. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose 5.4%, up from a 5.3% annual increase in December. That didn’t stop consumers though, whose spending rose 1.8% in January after falling the two previous months.