**MNI 5 THINGS: US Dec Core PCE Price Index +0.2%; Y/Y +1.9%>

--5 Things We Learned From Personal Income and Outlays Data         

By Kevin Kastner, Harrison Clarke and Shikha Dave

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the report 

on personal income, spending, and price data released Friday by the 

Bureau of Economic Analysis: 

     - The data suggest inflation is still well contained, with the 

year/year growth rate for the core measure remaining at 1.9% in 

December. The overall PCE price index was +1.7% y/y, compared to +1.8% 

in November. January price data will not be released until next month 

due to the impact of the shutdown, and February data will not be out 

until the following month. Personal income growth, which was for 

January, was lower than expected, while PCE fell sharply in December on 

goods, offset by a small increase in services. 

     - The core PCE price index rose 0.2% m/m (+0.187% unrounded) in 

December, as expected by both Bloomberg and MNI, following a +0.2% 

(+0.176%) reading in November. The overall PCE price index was up 0.1% 

in December after a flat reading in November. 

     - Current dollar PCE was down 0.5% in December, compared with 

expectations for a 0.3% decline by the Bloomberg consensus and a 0.1% 

decline expected in the MNI survey, both deriving from the very weak 

December retail sales numbers. January PCE data was delayed until next 

month by the shutdown, and February data will be delayed until the 

following month. Both durables PCE and nondurable PCE were down 1.9% in 

the month, offset by a 0.1% gain in services PCE. 

     - Real PCE was down 0.6% in December after a 0.5% gain in November, 

reflecting a 1.9% decline in real durables PCE, a 1.2% decline in real 

nondurables PCE, and a 0.2% fall in real services PCE.  

     - Personal income was down 0.1% in January, below the 0.3% gain 

expected by both the consensus and MNI estimates. Personal income was up 

1.0% in December. Wages and salaries were up 0.3% in January and 0.5% in 

December, reflecting the solid employment data in recent months. There 

were also income gains for rental income and personal current transfer 

receipts in January, but these were offset by large declines in 

proprietors' income and return on assets. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

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