Inflation continued to run red hot in September, with the Commerce Department reporting that the headline Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index surged 4.4 percent over the year, to a level not seen since 1991. Meanwhile, the core PCE inflation index, which excludes the volatile categories of food and energy and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose in the year through September at 3.6 percent, the Commerce Department announced on Oct. 29. The 3.6 percent core PCE growth in the 12 months through September matched the June, July, and August figures, indicating inflation stuck at its highest annual level in 30 years for the fourth month in a row. At the same time, the core PCE rate of inflation is well above the Fed’s 2 percent target, pressuring policymakers as they consider when and how quickly to roll back some of the stimulus measures that helped lift the economy …