The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge showed that inflationary pressures remained elevated in August, as policymakers seek to balance the need to restore price stability against a weakening labor market following last week's interest rate cut.

The Commerce Department on Friday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.3% in August from a month ago and is up 2.7% from last year. Those figures were in line with the estimate of LSEG economists.

Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.9% year-over-year. Both were in line with economists' expectations.

Federal Reserve policymakers are focusing on the PCE headline figure as they try to bring inflation back to their long-run

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