The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose further away from the central bank's target in September as consumers face price pressures.

The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.5% on a monthly basis in September and was up 3.6% from a year ago. Both figures were in line with the expectations of economists polled by LSEG.

Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.3% on a monthly basis and 3.1% year over year. Those figures were both in line with economists' expectations.

FEDERAL RESERVE MAKES INTEREST RATE DECISION AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Federal Reserve policymakers are focused on the PCE headline figure as they try to bring inflation back to their long-run target of 2%, though they view core data as a better indicator of inflation.

Compared with August's readings, headline PCE ticked up from 3.4% to 3.6%, while core PCE rose from 3% to 3.1%.

Goods prices were up 3.9% year over year, while…