OMITTED

What the news leaves out.

← Omitted front page

Fed Preferred Inflation Gauge Rises in September

4 sources · updated 2026-10-29
Left 50% Center 0% Right 50%
2 left · 0 center · 2 right

What happened

On Thursday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure — rose 0.5 percent in September from the previous month and 3.6 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 3.4 percent year-over-year rate in August. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.3 percent on the month and 3.1 percent from a year earlier, up from 3.0 percent. The figures were released a day after the Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged. In the same release, the BEA's advance estimate put third-quarter GDP growth at a 3.4 percent annual rate, above economists' 3.2 percent forecast and faster than the 2.2 percent pace in the second quarter, with consumer spending up 3.8 percent at an annual rate. The personal savings rate fell to 3.8 percent of disposable income from 4.0 percent in August, and inflation-adjusted after-tax incomes declined 0.3 percent from the prior month.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 4 articles

2 of 4 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.

What these terms mean and how they're counted
On the record · names a source 2 of 4
On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Ksenia Bushmeneva, Commerce Department and Bureau of Economic Analysis
Primary evidence · cites a document or data 4 of 4
Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: official statistics
Credits another outlet 0 of 4
The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
Unnamed sources 0 of 4
The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
How it developed
When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 29, 12:33 UTC by Fox Business, naming its source. First document in the first report, from Fox Business (official statistics).
Not counted 0
Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
Omitted — what each side leaves out

Unpacked

Left-leaning coverage omits both the driver of the increase and the core inflation figure the Fed watches. The Hill reports that the preferred measure "rose slightly" after an August drop, with no mention of energy or of prices outside food and fuel. Right-leaning coverage at the New York Post attributes much of the jump to high gas prices and notes that core prices picked up too. Without those facts, the same print reads as a small rebound rather than a spread of price pressure. Right-leaning coverage leads with distance from the Fed's goal; left-leaning coverage leads with a small monthly change. Fox Business opens on a gauge that rose "further away from the central bank's target." The Times notes only that the data arrived a day after officials held rates steady. How much of September's monthly rise came from gasoline, and how much from the rest of the basket?
Bottom line

Someone who read only The Hill would miss that core prices also rose last month. That detail sits in the New York Post, beside the gasoline spike that Hill readers never see.

The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
  • Rising gas prices drove much of the September inflation increase contextin New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • The 0.5% monthly price increase was the highest since May numberin New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Inflation-adjusted after-tax incomes declined 0.3% in September numberin New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Prices for services including shipping, hotel rooms, and utilities rose rapidly from August to September contextin New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
The Left View
Left-leaning outlets treated the report mainly as a modest statistical move. The Hill said inflation "increased slightly" in September after declining in August, without broader political interpretation. The New York Times said the index "picked up in September" in data released a day after the Fed held rates steady, and its headline described inflation as having "Accelerated."
The Right View
Right-leaning outlets framed the print as inflation moving further from the Fed's 2 percent target and remaining a "stubborn" problem the day after a rate pause. Fox Business stressed that headline and core PCE reached their highest levels since May, in line with forecasts but not therefore harmless, and quoted analysts who called demand resilient, questioned why the Fed did not hike, and pointed to a likely December increase; it also treated the GDP beat as a "bright spot" that nonetheless "does little to ease the inflation pressure tied to that demand." The New York Post said the gauge "heats up thanks to high gas prices," attributing much of the monthly acceleration to oil above $100 a barrel amid Middle East violence, while arguing that services costs showed inflation "spreading and growing more entrenched." It tied the data to midterm elections, polls giving President Trump poor marks on prices, and gasoline near $4.25 a gallon versus a campaign promise of below $2, and noted consumers appear to be drawing down savings or using credit as real incomes fall.
Our Take (balanced)
The left's strongest argument is that the increase was slight and followed an August decline, a characterization The Hill states directly and that is consistent with a print Fox Business reported as matching economist forecasts. The right's strongest argument is that both headline and core measures moved further from the 2 percent goal, with the New York Post citing broadening services inflation and falling real incomes and Fox Business citing the highest readings since May plus still-resilient demand a day after the Fed stood pat. The central unresolved tension is whether an in-line, modest acceleration after one softer month is a routine fluctuation or evidence that inflation is entrenched enough to put the rate pause at odds with the data.

4 sources

More stories

The week's bottom lines, in your inbox

One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.