WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Joint Economic Committee released its Monthly Expenditures Update for February, finding spending slowed and savings and income decreased. From January to February, headline personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index inflation was 0.38 percent. Core PCE price index inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, was 0.37 percent.

In the same period, spending increased while savings decreased. Real PCE increased by 0.10 percent, or $17.28 billion. Real PCE on all services increased by 0.08 percent, or $9.09 billion. Real PCE on all goods increased by 0.15 percent, or $8.59 billion, and the nominal personal savings rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 4 percent.

From February 2025 to February 2026, headline PCE price index inflation was 2.80 percent, which is higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent, and core PCE price index inflation was 2.97 percent.

Month-over-month, headline personal income decreased by 0.07 percent, or $18.16 billion, while real disposable personal income per capita decreased by 0.46 percent, which means that after tax income rose less quickly than prices.

For the full Monthly Expenditures Update, visit: https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/expenditures-update

Additionally, the Joint Economic Committee released its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Update of Q4 2025, Third Estimate which ticked down. Real GDP growth from Q3 to Q4 increased by 0.48 percentage points to 4.24 percent annualized. Current-dollar nominal GDP growth increased by 4.24 percentage or $324.499 billion, to a level of $31.423 trillion, the current size of the U.S. economy.

For the full GDP Update, visit: https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/gdp-update

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