Analysis: Next Friday's PCE data release will provide clues on whether the Federal Reserve has achieved its inflation target.

Odaily Planet Daily News: Shortly before the CPI report was released, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen predicted that inflation “may rise back toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target around mid-year.” She was likely referring to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index. Due to the government shutdown, the latest data is from November of last year, with the core PCE inflation rate at 2.8%. The December core PCE Price Index is scheduled to be released on February 20, and current forecasts also indicate a core inflation rate of 2.8%. Data for January will take some time to be available. Historically, the average increase in CPI has been about 0.5 percentage points higher than PCE. (Jin10)